Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), says the Israeli military will "deepen" and "increase" its strikes on Gaza
At a press conference, he told reporters this would allow Israel to "minimise the risks to our forces in the next stages of the war" - and it would happen "from today"
Hagari also repeated a call for residents of Gaza City to move to the south of the region, saying it was for their own safety
The warning comes on the same day aid was allowed into Gaza, from Egypt, for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war erupted
Despite some leaders celebrating the move, the UN called the aid a "drop in the ocean" of what's needed
Meanwhile the father of freed US hostage Natalie Raanan - who was held captive by Hamas for almost two weeks - has spoken to the BBC
He said his daughter, 17, is a "tough girl" and that "it'll take time for her to get back to normal ... but she'll be fine"
It's two weeks since Hamas launched its assault on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people. Palestinian officials say more than 4,000 have been killed in Gaza since then
Antonio Guterres is now speaking to reporters in Egypt, where he is calling for trucks carrying aid to be allowed into Gaza.
He says he has seen "so many trucks loaded with water, with fuel, with medicines, food", adding that these trucks would be a "lifeline" and the "difference between life and death for so many people in Gaza".
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived at Egypt's Rafah crossing ahead of the anticipated aid delivery into Gaza.
Stay with us as we bring you what he says.
The United Nations says the first aid delivery into Gaza via the Rafah crossing should take place "in the next day or so".
"We are in deep and advanced negotiations with all relevant sides to ensure that an aid operation in Gaza starts as quickly as possible," a spokesperson for UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths says.
Dozens of trucks are backed up at the crossing on the Egyptian border, carrying food, water, and medicine but no fuel. It's believed that only 20 will initially be allowed to cross.
As we reported earlier, Egypt says it has opened its side of the Rafah border crossing into Gaza but Israel said the entrance of aid was yet "to be determined".
A plane carrying the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has also landed near the border and he is expected to speak shortly to appeal for the dozens of trucks carrying aid to be allowed into Gaza.
Frank Gardner
Security Correspondent
There is an ominous sense of 2003 about the Middle East right now. Just as back then, Al-Qaida and violent Islamist extremism had been on the wane.
But then, the US-led invasion of Iraq reinvigorated the jihadists, leading eventually to the rise of Islamic State.
Today analysts are warning that the soaring number of civilian casualties caused by Israeli airstrikes on Gaza are so enraging populations in the region that something similar could recur.
So while Rishi Sunak and other Western leaders search for ways to avoid the situation escalating out of control, there are multiple risks emerging.
One is that Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon, feels compelled to join in the fight against Israel.
Another is that angry street protesters turn against their own governments, many of whom are Western allies.
And a third is that what is happening in Gaza so radicalises some individuals, including in Europe, that they turn to terrorism.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has met the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to agree on the "urgent need" to get food, water and medicine into Gaza.
A Downing Street spokesperson said the pair underlined the importance of avoiding any escalation in the violence across the region and that "leaders had a responsibility to do everything possible to prevent it".
They also agreed that "the loss of civilian life following Hamas's attacks was shocking and tragic".
Sunak will travel to Egypt later today to meet his counterparts in the region.
Egypt says Israeli strikes have hit the area around the Rafah crossing point four times since it began its air bombing of Gaza.
Egyptian media said the crossing was shut down after three Israeli strikes on 9 and 10 October, which it said left injuries on the Egyptian and Palestinian sides of the border.
On Monday, a BBC correspondent in southern Gaza confirmed an air strike had hit the area around the crossing, damaging a building on the Palestinian side of the crossing as well as the road.
Video analysed by BBC Verify appeared to show a strike on the crossing that day.
Egypt now says it has opened its side of the crossing into Gaza but it remains unclear when the Gaza side will be opened.
Image source, .Details are still emerging after an explosion hit the Saint Porphyrius Church compound in Gaza late on Thursday. Here's a look at what's being said on the ground:
We will update you as we get more on what happened.
Image source, Getty ImagesPalestinians search the destroyed annex of the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church
Tom Bateman
reporting from Jerusalem
The humanitarian crisis gripping Gaza is deepening with about a million people displaced amid the continuing Israeli bombardment that killed hundreds more people yesterday.
Many sheltering in school buildings or camps now can’t afford the few remaining supplies of bottled water.
Meanwhile, rocket fire from Gaza deep into Israel continued last night, with no reports of fatalities.
There was further fighting between Israel on its northern border and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
As fears grow of the crisis spreading, the Pentagon said a US warship shot down three cruise missiles launched by Iranian-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen.
It said the missiles were heading north, potentially towards Israel, but added it wasn’t certain of the target.
Water for basic needs in Gaza is running dangerously low, after Israel launched a "complete siege" on the strip following Hamas's 7 October attacks.
For anyone trying to get a sense of the scale of how much supplies have run dry, we've created this graphic to demonstrate it:
Image source, .Juliette Touma, from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the UNRWA, says Gaza has "become a hellhole" over the last couple of weeks.
Speaking to BBC Newsday, she called for the siege on Gaza to be lifted as civilians needed humanitarian supplies immediately.
“Time is running out. It has been almost two weeks. Two very long weeks UNRWA has not been able to bring in any supplies into Gaza," she said.
Touma added that “the clock is ticking” and that she did not know when the Rafah border crossing would open.
When asked what would be done to ensure aid didn’t fall into hands of Hamas, she said that UNRWA had "strict scrutiny and monitoring systems in place", as the organisation's 13,000 staff only gave aid to people who need it - "we’ve been doing this for decades”.
The United Nations and aid charities are poised on Egypt’s only border with the Gaza, hoping that a promised reopening will allow the first shipments of aid to civilians.
The deal struck by the US and Egypt earlier this week allows about 20 trucks to cross, but the UN says many, many more will be needed.
Looking at satellite images, it is possible to see that there were more than 50 lorries waiting at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing on Thursday, as you can see below.
Image source, .Speaking earlier this week about the agreement for a limited amount of aid to be allowed into Gaza, US President Joe Biden said vehicles wouldn't be able to enter until Friday at the earliest, because potholes in the road needed to be fixed first.
"They're going to patch the road. They have to fill in potholes to get these trucks through," he said.
The first 20 trucks will test a system for distributing aid without allowing the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, to benefit, Biden added.
It's not clear whether the crossing will open today but we will bring you the latest here.
Israeli minister Nir Barkat visited the site of the Kfar Aza massacre
The Israeli military is continuing to gather its forces ahead of an anticipated ground offensive in Gaza.
The BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale has been to kibbutz Kfar Aza - the site of a massacre committed by Hamas on 7 October - with Israeli minister Nir Barkat.
Tom Bateman
reporting from Jerusalem
The only road into Gaza set to reopen is bomb damaged and dangerous.
Egyptian diggers are trying to repair the Rafah crossing amid hopes 20 aid lorries could go in, possibly today.
Israel has said it will agree only to food, water and medicines passing through. Desperately needed fuel to power hospitals and water filter systems aren’t part of the deal.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, speaking in Cairo, said the supplies due to enter would ease what he called colossal human pain and suffering.
But aid agencies say much more, on a sustained basis, is needed.
The Rafah border crossing is the southernmost exit from Gaza and borders Egypt's Sinai peninsula.
There are only two other border crossings from and into the Gaza Strip - Erez, a crossing for people between Israel and northern Gaza, and Kerem Shalom, a solely commercial goods junction with Israel in southern Gaza. Both are shut.
Rafah is now the only crossing point for humanitarian aid. Dozens of lorries carrying fuel and humanitarian goods are parked on the Egyptian side of the crossing, waiting for it to open.
Egyptian media is now saying the Rafah crossing will open for several hours on Friday, after an agreement was secured by the US.
This has not been confirmed by other parties. We'll bring you the latest as we get it.
Read more: What is the Rafah crossing and why is it Gaza's lifeline?
Image source, .
Image source, Getty ImagesGaza remains under siege, with Israel blocking supplies of water, electricity, food and fuel across its border
Good morning to our readers in the UK, Middle East and Europe. We've just heard that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Egypt today to discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza with counterparts in the region.
If you are just joining us, here's what else you need to know:
A crucial aid corridor between Egypt and southern Gaza - at the Rafah border crossing - could open as early as today to allow into Gaza much-needed supplies.
But Mohsen Sarhan, chief executive of the Egyptian Food Bank, told the BBC that aid delivery could be obstructed if intense bombing at the Rafah crossing continues.
“What’s preventing us from getting in is the carpet bombing of the entire section of Gaza by the Israeli army. We are stationed at the border now for eight days and bombs are dropping every minute,” he told BBC's Newsday programme.
“They were even bombing a wasteland where there are no animals, no humans.
“We are willing to go in but the Egyptian authorities will not let us go in, unless they can guarantee we will not be killed instantly.”
Image source, Getty ImagesAid convoy trucks lined up at the Rafah border crossing
Rockets and drones hit Iraqi military bases housing US forces on Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency citing unnamed security sources.
Multiple blasts were heard inside the Ain al-Asad air base and the Iraqi military has closed the area and started a search operation, Reuters has reported. It is unclear if there were casualties from these attacks.
This comes after Iraqi armed groups aligned with Iran threatened last week to target the US over its support of Israel against Hamas.
Earlier on Thursday, the Pentagon said US forces in Iraq and Syria had been coming under multiple drone attacks since Tuesday. They resulted in minor injuries, though a civilian contractor died after suffering a "cardiac episode" while sheltering from a possible threat.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said , externalthey had "seen Iranian-backed militia conduct these types of things", but added they were still assessing the attacks and had no further details.
The Pentagon also said that in Yemen, a US warship shot down cruise missiles and drones launched by Houthi forces, aimed "potentially towards targets in Israel".
Ryder said they would act to "protect and defend our partners and our interests" and their aim was to "avoid any regional expansion of Israel's conflict with Hamas".
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Egypt today to discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza with counterparts in the region.
Sunak will discuss "the imperative of avoiding regional escalation and preventing the further unnecessary loss of civilian life", his office said.
On Thursday Sunak met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and urged Saudi Arabia to help support stability in the Middle East.
Image source, Getty ImagesBritish Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
The Israeli military says it is evacuating people from the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, near its border with Lebanon.
The order was approved by Israel's defence minister Yoav Gallant and was communicated to the city's mayor a "short time ago", the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Residents are being taken to state-funded guesthouses.
Kiryat Shmona, which has a population of about 23,000, has been hit by rocket fire in recent days amid clashes between armed fighters from the Lebanese Hezbollah group and the Israeli military.
The IDF had announced on Monday that it was implementing an emergency plan to evacuate all civilians living up to 2km (1.2 miles) from the Lebanese border and would put them up in state-funded guest houses.