Image source, Family handout

Hamas continues to hold at least 199 people hostage in Gaza following the attack on Israel on 7 October.

Earlier today, Iris Weinstein Haggai spoke to the BBC about her parents, Judi and Gad, who have been missing since the attack and are thought to be held captive in Gaza.

"It is unfathomable," she said when asked about the prospect of an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza.

"My dad dying is my biggest fear. But dying could be better in this situation", she added, as she talked about imagining her mum's "little tiny body being thrown somewhere in Gaza or tortured".

"I am terrified for this world, for Jewish people and terrified that hate is taking over."

Iris was also clear in her condemnation of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas.

"This is not a government who want to make the Palestinian lives better," she said.

"This is a terror group, a criminal gang - all they care about is getting power.

"If they wanted to make Palestinian lives better they could have made Gaza a heaven by now."

Rushdi Abu Alouf
BBC News, Gaza City

Blood-soaked mattresses are strewn across the courtyard of the Al-Ahli Arab hospital, along with clothing and personal possessions left behind in the chaos that followed the blast and the huge fire it caused.

In a nearby car park lie the smouldering wrecks of more than a dozen cars. The surrounding buildings are also damaged, apparently pockmarked by shrapnel.

But no large impact crater is visible.

There is an atmosphere of panic, with people struggling to understand what happened at a place that was supposed to be protected under international humanitarian law.

"We left our home to come here," a woman who survived the explosion told the BBC.

"We thought it would be safe, but then it got bombed."

Many staying inside the courtyard were elderly or infirm, unable to leave for the south because they did not have access to transport.

Read more about the Al-Ahli Arab hospital explosion here.

Image source, .

Image source, EPA

More now on Egypt agreeing to open up the Rafah crossing to allow in up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza.

US President Joe Biden made the announcement earlier, and now Egypt confirms that the "sustainable" passage of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip will pass through the crossing.

"Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and American President Joe Biden have agreed on the sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah terminal," said presidential spokesperson Ahmed Fahmy in a statement, without specifying a date.

A readout of the conversation between the two leaders said the aid would be coordinated by relevant authorities in the two countries with international humanitarian groups, under the supervision of the United Nations.

Anna Foster
Reporting from northern Israel

We’re in a ‘Hamal’ – Hebrew shorthand for ‘war room’ – high in the mountains on the Israel-Lebanon border.

There are no windows, and before you can pass through the solid door you have to leave behind mobile phones and smart watches – anything that could give away this secret location.

Inside, a team of soldiers watches screens around the clock.

Each shows grainy black-and-white images from cameras that are constantly trained on more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) of Lebanese border.

This surveillance job is exclusively done by women.

One of them, Sergeant I, was on duty and called in an air strike when she saw shadowy figures approaching the border wall.

“I recognised a group of terrorists on the screens and understood that something was wrong,” she told me.

"It’s scary, and it’s stressful, but I have to keep it cool”.

• You can read more about the Israeli 'war room' here

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has said it is striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

It has not yet given any further information.

Lebanese Al Mayadeen TV reported that Israeli air strikes targeted two villages in southern Lebanon in the early hours of Thursday.

The missiles were fired at Kafr Shuba and near Odaisseh, the channel added.

Hezbollah said it carried out attacks on Israeli military posts along the Israel-Lebanon border on Wednesday.

Hezbollah - like Hamas - has been designated a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and other countries.

Backed by Iran, it has a strong military and political presence in Lebanon, and wields considerable power in a country without a functioning government or president.

In 2006, it fought a devastating war with Israel in which 1,200 people died.

Earlier, President Biden said Egypt had agreed to open the Rafah crossing to a handful of lorries loaded with aid for Gaza.

International aid agencies say the need for aid is urgent.

Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, or UNWRA, said they were providing aid where possible, but said they are "overwhelmed".

"Our supplies are dwindling and running out fast," she says. "Our staff are also very, very tired.

"They have been impacted themselves by the war. Many of them lost loved ones. We have sadly at UNWRA lost 14 staff members and these numbers continue to increase."

Touma said the attacks on Gaza had meant that the agency had to relocate its operation to the south of Gaza where conditions to help people were far from ideal.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX

Here's the latest from Israel and Gaza.

• US President Joe Biden recently left Israel after visiting the country in a show of support - he will make a public address from the White House on Thursday evening
• Egypt's president has agreed to open up the Rafah crossing to allow in up to 20 trucks of aid into Gaza
• British PM Rishi Sunak is on his way to the Middle East and will arrive in Israel on Thursday morning
• Fallout continues from the huge blast that ripped through a crowded area at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital, killing many people. Palestinian health officials say 471 people were killed
• Israel strongly denies any involvement the hospital explosion in Gaza, and President Biden backed their claim, saying it was supported by "data" he had seen from the US defence department
• Israel was immediately blamed by Hamas but the Israel Defense Forces said the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian militant rocket
• A range of Arab countries joined Hamas in blaming Israel for the explosion, and some Arab leaders cancelled meetings with Biden

WATCH: What footage and images show about hospital blastpublished at 23:16 British Summer Time 18 October 2023

23:16 BST 18 October 2023

Caroline Hawley and the BBC Verify team have have been looking at video and stills of the explosion and its aftermath.

Watch this video to find out how they verified the first images of the explosion and what the blast scene can tell us.

US President Joe Biden will deliver a televised speech on Thursday at 20:00 local time (00:00 GMT Friday), the White House has just announced.

In his address, Biden will "discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine", Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Congress is currently without a Speaker of the House, making it impossible to pass legislation that could provide funding to Israel and Ukraine.

The White House announcement was made after Biden visited Israel to meet its leadership. Also on Wednesday, he held a phone call with Egypt's president.

Image source, Reuters

Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah has called for "world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls" amid the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.

Salah, 31, said humanitarian aid to Gaza must be allowed "immediately".

"There has been too much violence, heartbreak and brutality," he said in a video posted on X.

"The people of Gaza need food, water and medical supplies urgently.

"All lives are sacred and must be protected. The massacres need to stop. Families are being torn apart.

"I am calling on the world leaders to come together to prevent further slaughter of innocent souls.

"Humanity must prevail."

Image source, EPA

Initial evidence from the explosion at Gaza's Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital yesterday appeared to be "inconsistent with an airstrike" and "far more consistent with a small projectile failing", says Nathan Ruser, an expert from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

But he says there are "a lot of difficulties" in fully attributing the cause of the blast without seeing details and remains of the munition used.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 earlier today, he said the small crater at the scene of the explosion was inconsistent with an airstrike, as was the extent and type of damage to nearby cars - and he said the "typical puff of concrete dust" often seen after airstrikes on Gaza was "absent".

Ruser said most of the damage at the scene appeared to have been caused by fire, which he said would be consistent "with a rocket that had a lot of fuel and propellant in it".

Ruser added that's it's "incredibly tricky" to get reliable information out of Gaza, and the amount of disinformation around the conflict is "almost staggering".

He said both sides "have a track record of not necessarily providing the honest truth" and although information from journalists on the ground has helped add to the picture, "I don't think we'll ever know exactly what happened".

Read more: What video, pictures and other evidence tell us about Al-Ahli hospital blast

Chris Mason
Political editor

In a statement which has just been published, the prime minister says: “Every civilian death is a tragedy. And too many lives have been lost following Hamas’ horrific act of terror.

"The attack on Al-Ahli Hospital should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict.

"I will ensure the UK is at the forefront of this effort.”

There will be a determination in the government to use whatever diplomatic levers they can, as quickly as they can, before Israel’s widely anticipated ground invasion of Gaza.

Chris Mason
Political editor

The British Prime Minister is on his way to the Middle East.

Rishi Sunak will arrive in Israel early on Thursday morning to meet the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

He is on a two-day trip to the region during which he is also expected to visit other countries.

Downing Street says Rishi Sunak "will express his condolences for the terrible loss of life in Israel and Gaza as a result of Hamas's brutal terrorist attacks."

The Prime Minister will also press for the route for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza to open "as soon as possible" and for British nationals trapped there to be able to leave.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is visiting Egypt, Turkey and Qatar over the next few days.

Officials also point out Defence Secretary Grant Shapps met his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Washington on Wednesday "to coordinate" their approach.

• You can read more here about Sunak's visit

Image source, PA Media

Meanwhile in London, King Charles has made an impassioned plea for religious tolerance and mutual respect, against the background of "international turmoil" in Israel and Gaza.

In a speech at Mansion House, in the City of London, he spoke of the "heartbreaking loss of life".

The King has long supported building bridges between faiths, calling the UK a "community of communities".

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, the King has spoken to King Abdullah II of Jordan, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and UK chief rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis.

The King called for a "breathing space" to allow people to "think and speak freely" and for disputes to be "passionate but not pugnacious".

• You can read more here about the King's plea

Barbara Plett Usher
US State Department correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Even more than Joe Biden’s emotional words of support, the photo of him hugging the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has placed him solidly in Israel’s corner at the most explosive moment in its war with Hamas.

No matter who fired the rocket which killed hundreds of people at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza, this image will reinforce Arab anger not only towards Israel, but the United States.

Even though the US president has negotiated access for desperately needed aid into the besieged enclave, his visit will tie him to the results of Israel’s military campaign there.

Protesters in Arab capitals have already accused Washington of giving Israel a green light.

Some are chanting “Death to America,” including in Bahrain, a close American ally and one of only two Arab states to explicitly condemn the Hamas attack.

Image source, Reuters

Speaking to journalists aboard Air Force One, President Biden has described President Sisi as "completely cooperative".

He also spoke about Israel's right to defend itself, saying “Israel has been badly victimised but the truth is they have an opportunity to relieve suffering of people who have nowhere to go … it’s what they should do".

“If you have an opportunity to alleviate the pain, you should do it."

Biden was defiant in vowing to get "people out" but he wouldn't share further details.

At least 199 hostages are believed to be held captive by Hamas in Gaza, following the attack on Israel on 7 October.

We are getting a few more lines on the details of Joe Biden's conversation with the Egyptian president.

President Biden says he and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have agreed to work closely on encouraging an "urgent and robust international response" to the UN's humanitarian appeal.

The White House says the two leaders discussed ongoing coordination to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza and mechanisms to ensure the aid is distributed for the benefit of the civilian population.

Biden and al-Sisi agreed on the need to preserve stability in the Middle East, prevent escalation of the conflict, and set the circumstances for a durable, permanent peace in the region, the White House said.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby added the US hopes more trucks will be allowed eventually.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has agreed to open the Rafah crossing to a handful of trucks loaded with aid destined for the Gaza Strip, Joe Biden has just announced.

Speaking onboard Air Force One during an unexpected visit to the press cabin, the US President gave an update to reporters about his conversations with President Sisi.

He explained President Sisi had agreed to open up the Rafah crossing to allow up to 20 trucks of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Biden said: “If Hamas confiscates them or doesn’t let it get through … then it’s going to end.”

“The bottom line is Sisi deserves a lot of credit.”

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I'm currently inside the Cannon House office building, part of the US Capitol complex - which, for the last hour, has been the scene of loud and vocal protests against the war in Gaza.

Organised by a group called Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist left-wing Jewish activist group, it bills itself as "anti-genocide" and is calling for an immediate ceasefire in Israel and Gaza.

"The only way towards true safety... is to de-escalate and address the root causes of this horrific violence," an organiser said.

"The peace movement believes in basic stuff, like equality, justice and freedom," she added.

It follows Joe Biden's visit to Israel earlier today. Many of those here have explicitly condemned what they see as a carte-blanche from the US government to Israel and a failure to condemn civilian casualties in Gaza.

Capitol Police are still arresting people and the total tally is still unclear, but it's at least dozens.

Protesters are still being led away in zip ties to buses waiting downstairs to take them into detention.

Meanwhile, the chants of "ceasefire now" are still reverberating throughout the halls of the Capitol complex.

Image source, Reuters

Hundreds of protesters have attended a vigil outside Downing Street for victims of the deadly blast at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.

As we've been reporting, on a visit to Israel, US President Joe Biden backed Israel's strong denial of any involvement in an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, saying it was supported by "data" he had seen from the US defence department.

Hamas have blamed the explosion, which killed hundreds of civilians, on an Israeli air strike.

Braving heavy rain on Wednesday evening, protesters gathered in Westminster holding signs which read "stop the massacre" and "stop bombing Gaza".

Prayers were then held in Arabic, with attendees laying out plastic sheets on the ground to pray on.