The Middle East is on the "edge of an abyss" as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas, UN agency chief Philippe Lazzarini has told the BBC.

"The world is now losing its humanity", the commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said. He warned that violence could spill over across the region.

Lazzarini warned about the dire situation for civilians inside Gaza, calling again for humanitarian aid corridors into the territory.

Speaking in Jerusalem, Lazzarini condemned Hamas's attack on Israel, calling it a "horrific and barbaric massacre" that had created a "national trauma, a collective trauma in Israel".

"But this event still does not justify that the war is conducted without any restraint," he said. "And I do not believe that killing even more civilians is in the interest of the future security and peace here in the region."

Read more from Lazzarini's interview here.

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US House Speaker absence an obstacle to Biden's Israel aidpublished at 05:33 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

05:33 BST 20 October 2023

Sarah Smith
North America editor

There is vocal Republican opposition in the House of Representatives to continued funding of Israel and Ukraine.

But that is not the biggest hurdle President Biden will face when it comes to getting approval for the huge spending package he will request on Friday.

No legislation can be passed through the House of Representatives while it does not have a permanent Speaker. It currently has a temporary Speaker with limited powers.

Republicans – who have a slim majority in the house – cannot agree amongst themselves on a candidate with enough support to get elected, causing paralysis.

So even though there is broad support in the Senate for funding Israel and Ukraine, nothing can get passed unless the House agrees as well.

The conflict in the Middle East has intensified efforts to get the Speaker debacle sorted out, as many Republicans are eager to approve emergency assistance for Israel.

But it is far from clear how or when a new Speaker will be elected.

Here's a look at what unfolded across Israel and Gaza on Thursday.

Image source, EPA

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

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Image source, Getty Images

Lucy Williamson
Reporting from southern Israel

Image source, Getty Images

Israeli recovery teams are still finding bodies in the neighbourhoods near Gaza.

On Wednesday, they pulled a woman's body from the rubble in Kibbutz Be'eri. She was naked, her feet bound with metal wire.

One of the team said the bodies of more than 20 children had been found nearby, tied together and burned.

Even experienced workers are struggling: deaths like this are enough to break the living.

In Nir Oz, a line of ambulances and black vans processed slowly past the fence as we entered the kibbutz. This is now a place of stillness, the community frozen in the chaos of the attack.

Read more from Lucy on the families of Israel's hostages.

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier we reported on an explosion near a church in Gaza. More details have emerged.

The blast happened near the Church of Saint Porphyrius, a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City. Hamas said several people were injured and killed. Separately, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that at least two women have been killed.

Witnesses told the AFP news agency the explosion damaged the church's facade and caused an adjacent building to collapse.

In a statement expressing its "strongest condemnation", external, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem attributed the blast to an Israeli airstrike.

It added that the targeting of churches and their institutions, used often by civilians seeking shelter, "constitutes a war crime that cannot be ignored".

The Israeli military is looking into the matter, AFP said.

Image source, Getty Images

Kelly Ng
Live page reporter

Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of US military assistance since World War Two.

To date, the US has provided Israel $158bn (£130bn) in bilateral assistance and military funding, according to the Congressional Research Service, a public policy research institute of the US Congress.

In 2023, the US set aside $3.8bn for Israel in military financing, external. This is part of a 10-year deal signed during former US President Barack Obama's administration which pledged to commit $38bn in military aid to Israel from 2019 to 2028.

Since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022, Joe Biden's administration and US Congress have given more than $75bn in assistance to Ukraine, covering humanitarian, financial, and military aid, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research institute.

About 60% of this amount is military-related, such as for weapons and security assistance.

Biden makes case for US as an 'essential nation'published at 02:50 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

02:50 BST 20 October 2023

Sarah Smith
North America editor

President Biden firmly believes that it's America’s responsibility - his personal responsibility - to stand up for democracy around the world.

This was a sincere, heartfelt and impassioned speech from a man whose words don’t always connect with voters but who is very good at conveying empathy with those suffering in conflicts around the world.

Tonight, he aimed to explain to American citizens why it is in their interests. Why they should care about foreign wars thousands of miles away. And why American taxpayers should send money abroad to further his foreign policy goals.

The practical purpose of this address was to put pressure on Congress to agree to his request - expected to be for $100bn (£82bn) - to support Israel and Ukraine.

He was making the case that all the money spent now to stand up Vladimir Putin or to Hamas is a smart investment that will pay dividends for American security for years to come.

Speaking about his trip to Israel, he took great care to stress his sympathy for the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza as well as talking about meeting the families of Israeli and American victims of the Hamas attacks.

America is sending weapons to assist in Israel’s defence, but Biden also explained that he had talked to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the need to take care to avoid civilian casualties.

He totally condemned the “pure unadulterated evil” of Hamas but said they did not represent the Palestinian people.

And he mentioned the agreement he had secured that will allow some humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Biden tied together the brutal tactics of Hamas and the behaviour of Russia in Ukraine. He connected the reasons why he believes America needs to be involved in both of these conflicts by invoking the founding principles of the United States of freedom and liberty.

President Biden believes it is in America’s interests - both practically and philsosophically – to play a leadership role on the world stage.

“We are the essential nation,” he said.

He was appealing to American patriotism to support his policies and, he hopes, to pressure Congress into paying for them.

Here's what President Biden said in his rare Oval Office address to the nation.

His speech aimed to draw a link between the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel and he urged Congress to take action and pass an aid package supporting both nations.

Biden didn't actually say how much he was seeking in extra funding, but is expected to be asking for $100bn.

Notable quotes from his speech include:

• "Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy."
• "If we don't stop Putin's appetite for power and control in Ukraine he won't limit himself to Ukraine."
• Biden said that Hamas had unleashed "pure unadulterated evil on the world" and stressed there was "no higher priority for me than the safety of Americans held hostage".
• He also addressed the common sentiment that both conflicts felt far away to many Americans, saying that "by making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed it is vital for America's national security".

His final task was to explain why giving potentially billions in aid to Israel and Ukraine was important for Americans to support.

Terrorists and dictators need to "pay a price", the president said.

Image source, Reuters

We're getting some immediate reaction from Republicans to the president's rare Oval office prime time speech.

Ohio Senator JD Vance, who opposes further aid to Ukraine, was critical, calling it "disgusting".

"He’s using dead children in Israel to sell his disastrous Ukraine policy to skeptical Americans," he tweeted.

"They are not the same countries, they are not the same problems, and this effort to use Israel for political cover is offensive."

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn posted on X, formerly Twitter: "He should not be tying aid to Israel with aid to Ukraine, or the border."

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton was dismayed that Biden did not focus more of his speech on Iran.

"Biden must immediately warn Iran that any attack by its proxies against Americans will be treated as a direct attack by Iran against the US and will be met with massive retaliation," he posted.

Biden ends his speech talking about his secret trip to Ukraine via Poland that he took earlier this year to show support for Zelensky and Ukraine.

"We're stronger than ever before. America is a beacon to the world, still. Still."

"We can't let petty partisan, angry politics get in the way of our responsibility as a great nation."

He will not let Hamas and Putin win, he says.

Biden concludes.

Biden says the US must reject all forms of Islamophobia and antisemitism.

"You belong. You are all American," he says to Muslim and Jewish Americans.

"We all have the right to debate and disagree," he says, adding that American must "renounce violence and vitriol and see each other as fellow Americans".

"We reject all forms of hate whether against Muslims, Jews or anyone," he says.

"That's what great nations do and we are a great nation."

Biden says he will send an urgent request to congress to help fund Israeli air defences.

"We're going to make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel," he say.

"In Israel we must make sure they have what they need to protect their people, today and always" he adds.

"The security package I'm sending to Congress is an unprecedented commitment to Israel's security that will sharpen Israel's qualitative military edge."

Biden is comparing the Hamas group to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy."

"Putin denies Ukraine has, or has ever had, real statehood," says Biden.

Biden directly addresses the American people: "I know these conflicts seem far away - and it's natural to ask, why does this matter to Americans?"

"By making sure Israel and Ukraine succeed it is vital for America's national security."

"If we don't stop Putin's appetite for power and control in Ukraine he won't limit himself to Ukraine."

"The risk is conflict and chaos could spread to other parts of the world... especially the Middle East," Biden says.

He says that the US and its allies are "working to build a better future" for the Middle East.

One that he says is "more stable" and "more connected to its neighbours".

He says that a refusal to help Israel and Ukraine is "just not worth it".

"As president there is no higher priority for me than the safety of Americans held hostage," says Biden.

He goes on to say that Hamas unleashed "pure unadulterated evil on the world".

He also sends sympathy to the families of those killed on both sides, saying: "I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of Palestinian life" including those who died in the Gaza hospital explosion.

"Which was not done by Israelis," he adds.

Biden's begins his address saying: "We're facing an inflection point in history."

"This is one of those moments where the decisions we make today are going to shape the future for decades to come," the US president says.

He mentions that he just returned from Israel and met with Israelis who lived through the Hamas attack on 7 October.

Image source, Getty Images

US President Joe Biden is delivering a national primetime address from the White House.

The speech will touch on US support for Israel and Ukraine, among other issues of national security, officials say.

You can watch his address by clicking the 'play' arrow at the top of this page.

Image source, Getty Images

Ahead of his Oval Office address this evening, Joe Biden spoke with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, the White House says.

Biden assured the Ukrainian leader of "continued strong bipartisan support in the United States for Ukraine’s defence of its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic future", a statement said.

Zelensky visited Washington last month to secure further funding to repel Russia's invasion of his country.

So far, the US has sent some $46.6bn (£38.39bn) in military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Barbara Plett Usher
US State Department correspondent, BBC News

Image source, Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

I’ve spoken with the State Department official who’s resigned in protest against the Biden administration’s approach to Israel and its war with Hamas.

Josh Paul headed the bureau that oversees arms transfers, and he said he could not support the US decision to keep sending weapons to Israel while it lays siege to civilians in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas.

Paul told me he believed that Israel’s actions violated US legal provisions meant to restrict weapons sales to human rights abusers and those who broke international humanitarian law.

He cited its weeks-long blockade of food, water and medicine to the enclave, the dislocation of hundreds of thousands of people and the killing of thousands more in bombing raids.

Paul acknowledged that during his tenure he’d seen many military sales to Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, that had poor human rights records.

But in those cases, he said there were “thorough policy discussions…literally years of debate within the administration” and then strong pushback from Congress.

With Israel, “everything's just moving through as quickly as it can with no interest from either the executive branch or Congress in doing anything but rushing forward”, he said.

Paul said the US government had a history of letting Israel off the hook for incidents that constituted a “credible gross violation of human rights” because of “political concerns”.

“I think our mechanisms for determining violations are broken,” he said.

He added that the historical record shows Israel’s military campaigns and what he called “collective punishment” do not ultimately lead to security or peace.

The State Department said it was not commenting on what it called a “personnel matter”. But spokesman Matthew Miller said the administration was not concerned that it might be involved in possible war crimes by supplying weapons to Israel.

“We expect Israel to conduct its operations in compliance with international law,” he said. “We will continue to deliver [those] messages to them.”

Image source, Reuters

President Joe Biden, who has just returned from a trip to Israel, is due to deliver a televised national address from the White House in about 30 minutes.

In his speech, which is only his second from the Oval Office, Biden will speak about US aid to Israel and Ukraine.

His speech is expected to outline to American voters why it's necessary to provide billions of dollars to both countries.

The bulk of the $100bn (£82bn) request is expected to cover military aid for Israel and Ukraine, with some money for Taiwan and US border security.

Of the $100bn request, congressional officials told BBC News they expect $10bn would go to Israel, at least $60bn to Ukraine and the remainder be divided between Taiwan and boosting security at the southern border of the United States.

The request comes amid growing opposition among Republicans to ongoing US financial support for foreign nations.

Congress is currently without a Speaker of the House, making it impossible to pass any legislation, including aid packages American allies.

You can watch his address by clicking the "play" arrow at the top of this page.