Image source, PRCS

The Palestinian arm of the Red Crescent says 12 lorries have crossed into Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah border crossing today.

The lorries brought water, food and medical supplies into Gaza, but not fuel, which Israel stops aid organisations from bringing in.

A total of 74 aid trucks have been allowed into the Gaza Strip since 21 October, the Red Crescent says.

Earlier this week, UNRWA director Thomas White told the BBC that before the latest violence, more than 450 trucks would bring supplies into Gaza each day.

Image source, Reuters

In the past hour, a barrage of rockets was fired on central Israel from Gaza.

Air raid sirens sounded across much of the country, with reports of air defence interceptions.

Footage of what appears to be the aftermath of a rocket - or a fragment of one - hitting a building in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, has been published on social media.

Shortly after the alerts were issued, Israel's emergency services said no injuries had been reported so far.

Hamas, which has fired thousands of rockets at Israel since 7 October, said it was behind the latest barrage.

Fergal Keane
Reporting from Ramallah, in the West Bank

The first relief is the melody of the phone ringing. Then comes the best sound in the world. The living voice of a beloved relative trapped in Gaza.

From their home in Ramallah – 83 kilometres north-east of Gaza in the West Bank - Sanaa Al-Araj and her daughter Karmel, aged 18, constantly monitor news of the war.

And at least once a day they try to call their cousin Hadeel Abu Hassanen who is living in Gaza with members of the extended family.

"Last night was one of the hardest nights," Hadeel tells them. "There was bombing very close to us."

Sanaa is worried for another cousin, Mohammed, who was left paralysed by an Israeli airstrike. His wife is due to give birth any day but cannot access medical help.

"We can hardly sleep," says Sanaa. "Every day there is news of relatives and friends who are killed."

She is also anxious for her 93-year-old mother, Sabha, who suffers from depression and must live with the constant stress of bombardment.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

We've been focusing on Gaza, but a short distance to the north-east, tensions are running high in the occupied West Bank.

The UN estimates 95 people have been killed and nearly 1,900 injured in the territory since 7 October, which is not controlled by Hamas. Local authorities put the death toll slightly higher.

Reports of attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers have been growing since the initial Hamas attacks. Last night, US President Joe Biden said those attacks were "pouring gasoline on fire".

Deadly clashes between Palestinian militants and Israeli security forces have also taken place.

Thousands of soldiers have sealed off Palestinian villages and set up roadblocks to protect Jewish settlements - which are regarded as illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Israel says it has arrested nearly 1,000 wanted people in the West Bank - more than 600 of whom are alleged Hamas operatives.

• Click here for our reporter Joel Gunter's earlier piece from the West Bank

Image source, Reuters

In Jabalia refugee camp, in the north of Gaza, an Israeli air strike killed a mother and her four children. Sitting in hospital, the children's father holds his baby boy's body.

"He is only two months and a half old, what did he do?" the man says to Reuters news agency.

"Did he kill? Did he wound someone? Did he kidnap someone? They were innocent children inside their house."

The Israeli military has, for the past two weeks, advised people in the north to head south.

"I have said my word, even if they run over me with tanks, I will not leave my house," the man says.

"I will put a tent over my [destroyed] house and live inside it."

Update: The headline on this post has been updated.

An element of public messaging in Israel's Gaza raidpublished at 11:46 British Summer Time 26 October 2023

11:46 BST 26 October 2023

Frank Gardner
Security correspondent

Image source, X: @IDF

Israel's raid on north Gaza this morning is what the military call a "shaping operation".

All the indications are that this overnight raid was a prelude to a much bigger and widely anticipated incursion that the Israeli government has been promising, with the ambitious aim of destroying Hamas’s military capability "once and for all".

Last night’s raid had several aims: gathering intelligence on the location of Hamas forward positions on the edge of northern Gaza; destroying their anti-tank firing posts; and scouting routes in.

But also there was an element of public messaging here.

After widespread criticism of the intelligence and security failures that allowed Hamas to carry out their murderous raid into southern Israel on 7 October, the Israeli government is under pressure to show it can and will deal decisively with Hamas.

For weeks now, hundreds of battle-ready Israeli troops have been waiting for the order to go into Gaza.

But there are several factors holding back the order to go in. Delicate negotiations to release over 200 hostages are still ongoing.

The US is warning Israel of the likely high cost in casualties on both sides.

And there is pressure from Washington to allow time for the US military to position air defences around its bases in the Middle East, in the expectation of drone attacks by Iranian-backed militants once a full-scale Israeli incursion into Gaza begins.

Image source, Reuters

More deaths are being reported across the Gaza Strip after another night of Israeli air strikes.

"Why would a one-year-old be targeted?" asks Khan Younis man Hassan Abu Najib, speaking to Reuters news agency.

"Why is it that here in Gaza, a man gets married and barely has time with his son before he has to bury his children before they turn 30, even before their hair becomes grey. Why?"

Najib continues: "They haven’t even lived yet. They haven’t even said the word 'dad' or know their fathers' names yet."

Image source, EPA

We've been reporting on last night's raid by the Israel Defense Forces, where tanks broke through the fence into Gaza in "preparation for the next stages of combat".

Earlier, spokesperson Daniel Hagari gave more details to the media. He said the mission took "several hours", and nobody from the IDF was injured.

"Through the raid we eliminated terrorists, we neutralised threats, dismantled explosives, neutralised ambushes," Hagari said.

Image source, EPA

Benny Gantz, Israel's war cabinet minister, says restoring security to the south of Israel will take years after the Hamas attack on 7 October.

He says this will involve military and other measures.

"We will not be destroyed, but our enemies may face such a fate," he says.

Israel has repeated its accusation that Hamas are using roadblocks to prevent Gazans leaving the north of the strip.

The Israeli military has published audio, which it says is a conversation between one of its officers and a Gazan man.

"How did they block the road?" the officer asks.

"They are shooting at people," the Gazan replies, according to the IDF's transcript.

On 13 October, Israel ordered all Palestinians living in northern Gaza - at the time more than a million people - to head south via two safe routes.

The IDF previously published aerial images, it says, showing roadblocks on one of the two evacuation roads.

Image source, Reuters

The UK has Border Force teams in Egypt to assist British citizens trying to leave Gaza, Rishi Sunak says.

Speaking to the media in London, the UK prime minister says the British government is "very keen to be able to bring them out and bring them home".

"So that if there is a possibility for our nationals to cross the Rafah crossing, we're ready to get them in and bring them back."

But Sunak adds the situation in Israel and Gaza remains complex - meaning getting people out is not possible immediately.

Israelis want Hamas removed - but how?published at 10:31 British Summer Time 26 October 2023

10:31 BST 26 October 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International editor, reporting from southern Israel

Israelis are still absolutely knocked sideways and thoroughly traumatised by the killings that took place on 7 October.

They are pretty much as close to unanimity as possible on the principle of removing Hamas as an enemy.

A very different question is how and when that is achieved.

I think there is a growing chorus of voices arguing that, with four hostages already released, with the Qataris on board as negotiators, and with talk of a tranche of maybe 50 people more being set free, there is a reason to hang on – that Israel doesn’t have to do this in a hurry.

As for Netanyahu himself, leading a country at war is an inherently highly stressful activity. There is extra stress for him in that he was presiding over a deeply fractured and bitterly divided country before any of this started.

So while Israelis have united behind their flag and an agreement that they must get rid of Hamas, they have not rallied behind Benjamin Netanyahu.

Yes - he has some devoted followers. But there are some very vociferous voices who think that he is a major part of the problem - that he split the country in pursuit of ideological goals over territory in the West Bank, and to preserve his own place in power.

He’s also been on trial for very serious corruption charges that might even land him in jail. So his enemies would say that everything for Netanyahu is a gigantic act of political self-preservation - and everything about the run up to the invasion is about him as much as Israel.

Image source, Reuters

Israeli tanks raid Gaza

• The Israeli military carried out a "targeted raid" in northern Gaza overnight, using tanks and bulldozers to enter the strip
• It's not the first time Israel has confirmed a cross-border raid since Hamas attacked on 7 October
• But the IDF's language about the attack is stronger than previous raids, saying it was "part of preparations for the next stages of combat"
• The IDF also says it hit 250 Hamas targets overnight, taking out infrastructure, missile-launch positions and "numerous terrorist cells"

Gaza fuel shortages

• The UN continues to issue warnings about the growing fuel crisis in Gaza
• The UN body representing Palestinians in Gaza says it has found some fuel, which will be prioritised for filtering and purifying water
• But it says other humanitarian efforts, like baking bread, have been suspended
• It previously warned its operation could end by Wednesday night, as no fuel has been allowed into Gaza since 7 October
• Israel disputes the extent of the fuel crisis - and accuses Hamas of stockpiling vital reserves

Image source, Reuters

As we've reported, Israel says its air strikes hit 250 Hamas targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours. Earlier this month, the Israeli military warned people in the north of the Gaza Strip to head south.

But one man in Khan Younis, in the south, tells Reuters: "The southern area, south of the valley, is not safe.

"There are massacres day and night, many massacres, where children, young people, babies - everyone is being killed.

"Buildings are killed, trees are killed... there is no safe place in all of Gaza Strip. The south is destroyed, all of the killings and displacement is in the south.

"We belong to God and to him we shall return."

Image source, EFE

The World Health Organization has just published a list of medical supplies it says are ready and waiting across the border from Gaza in Egypt. They include:

• Surgical equipment for 3,700 trauma patients
• Basic and essential health services for 110,000 people
• Medical equipment for 20,000 patients suffering from chronic diseases

The WHO calls for "immediate and uninterrupted access into and across Gaza" so it can support the territory's "ailing health system".

Dozens of aid lorries have been let into Gaza at the Rafah border crossing in recent days - but agencies say at least 100 a day are needed.

The Israeli military has just said there are 224 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

This is an increase of two people from the last update.

In total, four hostages have been released by Hamas - an American mother and daughter, and two Israeli women.

Read more about the hostages here.

Machine gun fire and hours of air strikes: What I heard in Gazapublished at 09:22 British Summer Time 26 October 2023

09:22 BST 26 October 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International editor, reporting from Ashkelon, Israel

In the Israeli town of Ashkelon last night, as we were working in the room we use as an office, you could hear the noise from last night’s incursion into Gaza very clearly.

It started more or less when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finished his address and it was pretty much continuous artillery and airstrikes for hours and hours.

There were also indications that combat was taking place as we could hear machine gun fire. It was a warm, still evening, so it was noticeably loud, going on into the early hours of the morning.

And at our hotel this morning, there was coach load of reservists covered in dust, looking for the opportunity for a shower.

I think this incursion will be a harbinger. Netanyahu, in his address to the Israeli nation yesterday, confirmed they will have a ground offensive - at a time of their choosing.

The Israel Defense Forces have released a small video including drones, of the raid last night, in which you can see the massive, fearsome bulldozers called D9s in action.

They said they were preparing the battlefield – I think that just means flattening it - so this was an early reconnaissance force, but also a signal to the Israeli people that they will do something fairly soon.

And that’s because there is this increasing chorus of people saying: "Weren’t we supposed to be having an offensive?"

As we've just reported, the UN says fuel is running short in Gaza - although it was able to extract some more supplies from within the territory on Wednesday.

But in a morning update, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt Col Jonathan Conricus says, as far as he knows, there is still electricity and water in Gaza - casting doubt on reports of major fuel shortages.

"Sure the situation in Gaza isn't great, there are difficulties and people wounded and killed, which is regrettable," he says.

But he says reports that humanitarian operations may have to stop in Gaza are not "accurate".

He points to satellite images the IDF released yesterday, external that apparently show Hamas's fuel reserves in above-ground tanks.

"Hamas prefers to have all of the fuel for its warfighting capabilities, leaving civilians without it," Conricus says.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The UN agency that helps Palestinians in Gaza says it's rationing its use of fuel and reducing the services it can offer.

On Tuesday, the body warned its humanitarian operation could end by Wednesday night if fuel supplies weren't delivered to Gaza.

UNRWA now says it has been able to extract more fuel from reserves in Gaza, which will be primarily used to filter and purify water which is in "desperate need".

Other operations, including fuel for bakeries, have been set aside, with many bakeries now unable to make bread, UNRWA says.

No fuel has been allowed into Gaza since Hamas's attacks on Israel 7 October. Israel says Hamas is stockpiling it, rather than allowing it for civilian use.

Speaking to the BBC, an UNRWA spokeswoman says Gazans are seeing "unprecedented levels of suffering".