Patrick Clahane
BBC News

Image source, .

Ayman Mghames, 38, along with his wife and two young children, left their home in the north when the conflict began, taking shelter with a friend in Nuseirat in central Gaza.

He says his home in al-Mukhabarat in northwest Gaza city has been “completely demolished, levelled to the ground” and every day is a struggle to find food and clean water.

“It’s unbearable, it’s unliveable. The situation is really hard," he says.

But today he’s got something happy to focus on.

“My wife is brilliant. We found out yesterday that she is pregnant and we hope that we will manage. I hope this can be the sign of a better future…I hope.”

In the house where they’ve moved there are about 70 other people, mainly women and children.

“We are all working together as a team. Some for the bread, some for the water, some for the generator, some for the fuel, some for the electricity.”

At night, Ayman’s children are often woken up by the sound of explosions.

He says last night was “very terrible” with “missiles and explosions all night long”.

Rishi Sunak says the opening of the Rafah crossing into Gaza will now "imminently happen", following his meetings with several leaders in the Middle East.

Speaking to BBC Arabic, Sunak says the "immediate priority right now" is to get humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

He adds that his discussions with six leaders - including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - were productive, and they made "good progress on tangible areas" such as humanitarian aid.

He added the UK shares "a vision of a future where Palestinian people can live with dignity, with freedom and security and we need to work hard to make that happen".

Image source, Getty Images

We've just heard that Rishi Sunak has met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during his trip to Egypt today.

Sunak's office said that the prime minister expressed his "deep condolences for the loss of civilian lives in Gaza" and reiterated his commitment to opening up humanitarian access to Gaza.

Both leaders "condemned Hamas's terrorism and stressed that Hamas do not represent the Palestinian people".

Sunak's spokesperson said: "The leaders agreed on the need for all parties to take steps to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and minimise the loss of innocent lives."

Israeli official says 'good chance' aid trucks will enter Gaza tomorrowpublished at 16:21 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

16:21 BST 20 October 2023

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, in Jerusalem

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sounded extremely frustrated when he spoke in front of the still-blocked Rafah crossing earlier.

It's not clear why today's experimental aid convoy – just 20 trucks – has still not crossed into the Gaza Strip.

Guterres spoke of "conditions and restrictions" which needed to be addressed, but didn’t elaborate.

Despite the deal between Israel and Egypt, brokered by US President Joe Biden, it seems there are still issues to be resolved.

Israel insists that the trucks only carry food, water and medicine, and that none of it reaches Hamas.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Its military campaign, which includes relentless air strikes, has also involved depriving the entire Gaza Strip of food, water, electricity and fuel.

Having instructed civilians in the northern part of Gaza to move south, the IDF has started telling people to head to open ground between Khan Yunis and al-Mawasi where aid will be available.

Asked about the hold up this evening, a senior Israeli official told the BBC there were "ongoing issues which are being solved", adding that there was “a good chance" the 20 trucks would enter Gaza tomorrow.

But the UN says that’s a tiny fraction of what's needed.

Image source, Reuters

The British PM Rishi Sunak is holding talks with the Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

Earlier today Sunak met with the Amir of Qatar in Saudi Arabia as part of his tour of the region.

A spokeswoman for the PM said the UK's "priority" is to focus on the opening of the Rafah crossing for humanitarian aid.

In a post on X, external, formerly Twitter, Sunak said:

Image source, Reuters

Joe Biden has reiterated his support for Israel in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

It comes after his primetime address to the American nation last night when he spoke about the conflict.

Israel says more than 20 of the hostages taken by Hamas are children.

These are the names and stories of the under 18-year-olds who were taken - confirmed by the BBC, or credibly reported.

Ofri, 10, Yuval, 8 and Oria Brodutch, 4: The children were at Kfar Aza, a kibbutz near the boundary with Gaza, when Hamas attacked and they were taken.

Daphna, 15, and Ella Elyakim, 8: They were seen in a video being held in their home in Nahal Oz kibbutz by Hamas militants

Ethan Vahalomy, 12: The teenager was taken when gunmen burst into the family home.

Noam, 15 and Alma Or, 13: They were seen by a neighbour being dragged out of their home in Kibbutz Be’eri.

Naveh, 8, and Yahel Shoham, 3: Along with their parents, the two siblings were kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Be’eri.

Noam Avigdori, 12: Along with her mother, and several other relatives, the teenager was taken by Hamas.

Ariel, 3, and Kfri Bibas, 9-month-old: The two children were pictured being held by their mother, Shiri Bibas, as they were taken by Hamas militants.

Image source, TELEGRAM

Erez, 12 and Sahar Calderon, 16: Along with several other family members, they were taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Natalie Raanan, 17: The teenager was visiting Israel with her mother from Illinois. They were in Kibbutz Nahal Oz when it was attacked and neighbours saw them being taken by Hamas.

Raz, 5, and Aviv Asher, 3: The children were taken along with their mother Doron while staying with relatives near the Gaza boundary

Click here to read our full list of the hostages taken by Hamas

Almost two weeks have passed since Hamas launched its surprise attack on Israel. Around 200 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. This includes 20 children and at least 10 people aged over 60.

On Friday nights, Jewish families around the world sit down to Shabbat dinner. Tonight, hundreds of Israeli tables will have empty places where the missing would normally take their seats.

At the Tel Aviv Museum plaza, a Shabbat dinner table has been set for the hostages. In their places are 200 empty chairs.

Here are some pictures from the scene:

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

The Israeli defence minister says that Once the war with Hamas is over, Israel will bring to an end its "responsibility" for life in the Gaza Strip.

During a briefing to parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, Yoav Gallant listed the severing of ties with the coastal enclave as one objective of Israel's military campaign.

Gallant also outlined objectives of "the elimination of Hamas and destruction of both its military and governing capabilities" and the "creation of a new security reality in the region", according to a statement.

Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, though it retained control over its airspace, shared border and shoreline.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Speaking ahead of a major pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday, the Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, in charge of the policing operation, said he had banned demonstrators from assembling outside of the Israeli embassy after concluding there could be serious public disorder.

The force has also confirmed that counter-terrorism officers will be working alongside public order teams amid concerns that some people could come to London on Saturday to show support Hamas or Hezbollah, both of which are banned under UK terror laws.

Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent

Scotland Yard says there has been a huge leap in hate crimes - predominantly anti-Semitic incidents - since the Hamas attacks on Israel.

Between 1 and 18 October there were 218 anti-Semitic incidents across London - up from 15 across the same period last year.

The number of Islamophobic incidents had risen to 101, from 42 last year.

The statistics were released on the eve of a major pro-Palestinian demonstration in London.

Police chiefs have banned any protesters from assembling outside the Israeli embassy.

The Metropolitan Police said that it was receiving reports of hate crimes occurring both in person and online and so far these had been a mixture of racially and religiously motivated incidents.

So far, 21 people have been arrested and officers had been sifting through 1,400 reports of potentially illegal content online.

Image source, Reuters

The Kremlin says that remarks by US President Joe Biden in which he compared Russia to Hamas and called Vladimir Putin a "tyrant" were "unacceptable".

Biden, in an address from the Oval Office on Thursday, said the United States had to stand behind Israel and Ukraine in the face of Russia and Hamas, and said "we cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We do not accept such a tone in relation to the Russian Federation, in relation to our president.

He said such "rhetoric is hardly suitable for responsible leaders of states, and it can hardly be acceptable to us".

Image source, Getty Images

US President Joe Biden delivered an address to the nation last night a day after his trip to Israel. He spoke about conflict in Israel and Gaza, and drew a link between that and the war in Ukraine.

Here is a recap of what he said:

• The US President said Hamas and Russia both wanted to "annihilate a neighbouring democracy"
• He urged Israeli leaders to learn from US mistakes after 9/11, and not to be "blinded by rage after" the Hamas attacks

• Biden said he would send an urgent funding request - expected to be $105bn (£87bn) - to Congress on Friday to help Ukraine and Israel

• "We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win. I refuse to let that happen," he said

• He said that as the president, "there is no higher priority for him than the safety of Americans held hostage"
• Biden condemned any acts of hatred against Jews or Muslims in the US and said: "We must without equivocation denounce anti-Semitism. We must also without equivocation denounce Islamophobia"

The Palestinian Health Ministry says the death toll in Gaza has reached 4,137 since 7 October, as fighting between Hamas and Israel continues.

More than 13,000 people have been wounded in Gaza, they said.

Israel has been heavily bombing the Gaza Strip since Hamas launched its attacks on 7 October.

Rafah border crossing cleared in preparation for openingpublished at 13:04 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

13:04 BST 20 October 2023

This is an image from last night of the concrete barriers being removed from the Rafah border crossing in preparation for the first aid lorries to pass through.

Published on Telegram channels and verified by the BBC, the writing on the building read “Rafah Land Port”.

Image source, Telegram

Then, early this morning, this image from the Quds Telegram channel captures bulldozers and cranes working to clear and repair the roadway to allow trucks to pass through. The building, road and vegetation match the one of the Rafah crossing.

Image source, Telegram

As preparations continued through the morning, this image posted another local Telegram channel shows how tight security is on the Egyptian side of the border.

Image source, Telegram

UN chief's passionate plea for trucks to cross borderpublished at 12:57 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

12:57 BST 20 October 2023

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, in Jerusalem

This was the day when Joe Biden said he hoped a first, experimental convoy of around 20 trucks would cross from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, carrying food, water and medicine.

But it’s yet to happen.

Standing at the still-closed Rafah crossing, Antonio Guterres made a passionate plea for the trucks to cross as quickly as possible.

They represented, he said, the difference between life and death. He spoke of conditions that still needed to be addressed. It’s not clear precisely what the problem is, except that Israel insists nothing should reach Hamas.

It also won’t allow fuel to enter, something Guterres said was absolutely essential to enable the UN to distribute aid.

Israel carried out another hundred air strikes on the Gaza Strip overnight, saying it had killed yet another Hamas leader.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has released a new statement with information about the 200 hostages that are currently being held in the Gaza Strip. It says:

• More than 20 of them are children under the age of 18
• Between 10 to 20 of them are over the age of 60
• The majority of the hostages are alive

The IDF statement also says dead bodies were "taken hostage" to the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attacks on 7 October.

Read more about who the hostages are here

Image source, Reuters

It's just gone 14:00 in Israel and Gaza - and past midday here in our London newsroom. Here's a recap of today's key developments:

• Repairs to the bomb-damaged Rafah crossing are being carried out in the hope that aid lorries queuing at the border to enter Gaza will be allowed in
• The United Nations has said it expects the first delivery of aid will take place in the "next day or so"
• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has visited the crossing in Egypt, where he said the safe passage of trucks into Gaza was the "difference between life and death"

• Elsewhere, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem has called Thursday's explosion at a church compound in Gaza City a "war crime"
• British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is in Egypt to discuss avoiding a further escalation in the Middle East
• Israel has announced the evacuation of the northern city of Kiryat Shomona as clashes continue with Hezbollah fighters across the border in Lebanon
• US President Joe Biden has said he will ask Congress for billions of dollars in military funding for Israel and Ukraine in a televised address from the Oval Office

Stick with us as we bring you all the latest updates.

Image source, Getty Images

Photos emerging today show the damage at a church compound in Gaza City after a blast on Thursday night.

Gaza's Hamas-run government now says 18 Christian Palestinians were killed in the explosion at the Saint Porphyrius Church. The BBC has not been able to verify this figure.

Hamas said people were sheltering at the church and blamed an Israeli air strike for the damage.

The Israel Defense Forces told the AFP news agency its fighter jets had hit a command and control centre involved in launching rockets and mortars toward Israel, and as a result, "a wall of a church in the area was damaged".

Image source, Getty Images

Frank Gardner
BBC News, Security Correspondent

The BBC has been told that as talks continue to secure the release of many of the estimated 203 hostages held in Gaza, Hamas has offered to release some in exchange for an immediate ceasefire. Israel has so far not agreed to this, we are told.

Internationally-brokered negotiations have been ongoing around the hostages held in Gaza. There’s been no official confirmation from any side about the details of discussions. The BBC is working to clarify the latest information.

Hamas does not hold all the hostages. Some are being held by other armed militant groups.

Their continued captivity in Gaza is a complicating factor for Israeli commanders planning their intended incursion into the territory.

Obviously, the hostages stand a far better chance of coming out alive if this can be done by negotiation.