Raffi Berg
BBC Online Middle East editor

Bahrain's lower house of parliament says the Gulf kingdom - which recently normalised relations with Israel - has recalled its ambassador to Israel in response to its offensive in Gaza.

The assembly said the Israeli ambassador to Bahrain had also left the country and that economic ties had been halted.

This marks the first time since the outbreak of the war on 7 October that one of the four Arab League countries which have signed historic accords since 2020 have taken such action against Israel.

Bahrain-Israel ties had grown considerably since the two countries signed the US-back accords, seen as a major breakthrough in de-escalating the decades old Israeli-Arab conflict.

Bahrain's move comes amid soaring public anger in Arab nations which have made peace with Israel, but which have seen mass demonstrations held in support of the Palestinians.

Image source, Reuters

Modern warfare and the information battlefieldpublished at 12:52 Greenwich Mean Time 2 November 2023

12:52 GMT 2 November 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International editor, reporting from southern Israel

The information battlefield is a very big part of modern warfare and the media is being fed scraps.

The Israelis are not just trying to complete their military agenda, but they are also trying to constantly prove the legitimacy and the rightness of their cause.

Allies are very much behind them in all of that, but they are also fighting against the pictures of thousands of Palestinian civilians going through absolute misery and hell and many of them getting killed as a result of the Israeli bombing.

So, the Israelis are making their argument this is all because of Hamas using civilians as human shields.

All of this is making it quite a complicated media field.

A scientist from the UK earlier told us there was an "air of desperation" as people tried to leave Gaza via the Rafah border crossing.

Speaking to the BBC before the checkpoint reportedly opened again today, Mohammed Ghalayini said: "People who think they might be able to leave are desperate to leave.

"There's a lot of, kind of, lack of information and just waiting."

He added: "I don't blame anyone that's trying to flee. I blame whoever's conducting this. People are arriving at the border on donkey carts because there's no fuel."

Ghalayini was visiting family in Gaza when he became trapped there when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October and the conflict escalated. He decided to stay in the region, but has been situated near the crossing.

Image source, EPA

We've just brought you the news that more people are today reported to have used the Rafah crossing to leave Gaza for Egypt.

The footage which reached us earlier from the Reuters news agency gave a sense of people's mood there - with one despondent Egyptian woman saying: "We've seen death with our own eyes... I want to pass, we are not animals."

Anna Holligan
Hague correspondent

The first Dutch people have crossed Gaza's border with Egypt - according to the Dutch public broadcaster NOS, quoting a family member. Those evacuees are reportedly members of the same family.

The foreign ministry hasn't yet confirmed the news.

This morning, the Palestinian border guard published a list of 400 names of people who would be allowed to leave Gaza today, including those of 20 Dutch people. At the last count, 27 Dutch nationals or people with immediate family in the Netherlands - or with Dutch residence papers - were in Gaza.

About 100 more foreigners and dual nationals have been able to leave Gaza for Egypt at the Rafah crossing, an official on the Palestinian side has told the AFP news agency.

A total of 400 foreign passport holders as well as 60 severely-wounded Palestinians in ambulances were due to cross by the end of the day, Wael Abu Mohsen told AFP.

The news agency notes that this number represents only a very small proportion of more than two million people currently in the territory.

Why Hamas won't want a pitch battle with the IDFpublished at 11:24 Greenwich Mean Time 2 November 2023

11:24 GMT 2 November 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International editor, reporting from southern Israel

Image source, EPA

From what we can put together, the Israelis, who had started quite slowly, are starting to make progress.

They have had 17 soldiers killed in battle, and that was from a couple of anti-tank missiles that hit their spots.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) released several videos this morning of soldiers in undefined locations.

They seem to be getting much closer to Gaza City, but it’s also important to remember this is quite a small area. During peaceful times, you can get from the very north of Gaza to the centre of Gaza City in about 15 minutes. But, it’s taken the Israeli army a few days to get to the gates of the city, which suggests they are moving slowly.

It’s important to point out that it is not like Russia versus Ukraine. This is not two ginormous standing armies with heavy artillery, smashing the hell out of each other.

It's what analysts call asymmetric warfare, which is the warfare of the weak against the strong.

So Hamas won't be trying to have a pitch battle with the Israelis. What they'll try to do is harass them.

Our reporter in the Gaza Strip, Rushdi Abualouf, has this update on the fighting:

• There are five different battles in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas, in the north and around Gaza City

• The biggest is in the north-west of the strip, where "very few" people remain
• Hamas say they are using anti-tank missiles and engaging in gun battles
• Last night saw heavy fighting, and heavy air strikes, including near two hospitals

Watch his full update above.

Some new figures to bring you from the Hamas-run health ministry, which says 9,061 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the present conflict began on 7 October.

This includes 3,760 children, the ministry adds. More than 32,000 others have been injured.

Israeli military faces massive challengepublished at 10:37 Greenwich Mean Time 2 November 2023

10:37 GMT 2 November 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International editor, reporting from southern Israel

One of the biggest questions here is: what is the endgame for the Israeli military?

The government here is under a lot of pressure to answer what on earth it is they want out of this, apart from saying they want to wipe Hamas off the face of the earth.

And, wiping out an idea is much, much more difficult than wiping out men with guns.

If we look at the fight against jihadists in Syria and Iraq, many of the jihadists were killed - but the act of killing them was actually used as a recruiting method to attract more people to join the cause.

But, assuming the Israelis get to a point where their military agenda is satisfied, there is also the question of how to govern 2.5 million people in a territory which is only 140 square miles and is absolutely ravaged by war.

It’s going to be a massive challenge.

In the daily IDF briefing, spokesman Daniel Hagari says the military has contacted the families of 242 hostages being held in Gaza.

The last reported number was 239.

Hamas say they have hidden the hostages across Gaza, including in tunnels. Last week, they said at least 50 hostages had been killed by Israeli air strikes - a figure that can't be verified.

And yesterday, Hamas said seven hostages were killed in an air strike on the Jabalia refugee camp.

Here's a guide to the missing people.

Jessica Parker
Berlin correspondent

The German government has banned the activities of Hamas – already designated as a terrorist organisation in the country.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said: "I have today completely banned the activities of a terrorist organisation whose aim is to destroy the state of Israel.”

It means it will be a criminal offence to have meetings in the name of Hamas or spread their propaganda.

Faeser also announced that the pro-Palestinian network, known as Samidoun, would be disbanded within Germany.

Last month Chancellor Olaf Scholz said its members had been celebrating Hamas "terror" in Israel on German streets.

Countries using lobbying muscle to get nationals out of Gazapublished at 09:28 Greenwich Mean Time 2 November 2023

09:28 GMT 2 November 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International editor, reporting from southern Israel

Image source, Getty Images

Both the Israelis and the Egyptians have highly-developed security services and they will want to check who is coming out of Gaza one by one, and that’s where these lists that we've been reporting on this morning come into play.

Countries with great lobbying power are pushing to get their nationals out and America is likely at the top of that list.

There are suggestions in the Israeli press there are some Russians stuck in Gaza - and the Russians, who have some good relations with Hamas, are pressing to try and get their citizens to the front of the queue.

So, there is definitely a bit of competition going on which does not provide much comfort for people waiting.

But, at least the process has started.

Image source, Reuters

Among the British citizens in Gaza is Mohammed Abu Foul who has been trying to get food every day for his family of 16. He's among those who are trying to leave for Egypt via the Rafah crossing.

His brother, Dr Ahmad Abou Foul, is in Birmingham. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he explained that the UK Foreign Office created at the start of the conflict a portal for British citizens to put in their details. He says this information was then passed onto the Egyptian authorities.

"They have received thousands of names from embassies all around the world," he says. Referring to the latest list of people allowed to leave, he says "the majority are Americans, South Americans, Europeans", but he saw no Britons - "which is very surprising".

He went on to say the situation in Gaza was "becoming worse on a daily basis" - with a struggle to get food and water. "There is an ongoing danger to life with lots of bombardments. Anything can happen at any time so it is a very difficult situation."

Anna Foster
Reporting from southern Israel

A new and updated list has been published this morning of people with approval to leave Gaza though the Rafah crossing.

It's again a list of people who have foreign passports and those with dual nationalities - around 600 in total today. About 400 are people who hold US citizenship. There are also hopes for the evacuation of more seriously injured Palestinians for medical treatment at a new field hospital in Egypt.

The suggestion is that as the days go on, more people with foreign passports will be able to cross out of Gaza.

But it’s important to remember that more than two million people live there, and most of them who are under constant bombardment during this war can’t choose to leave.

The number of people able to get out of Gaza is only a very, very small fraction of the overall total who are there at the moment.

As we've been reporting, more civilians are expected to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing today.

Rafah is the southernmost exit from Gaza and borders Egypt's Sinai peninsula.

There are only two other crossings into the Gaza Strip - Erez, a crossing into Israel in northern Gaza, which is for people, and Kerem Shalom, a solely commercial goods junction with Israel in southern Gaza. Both were shut as the war broke out and remain closed.

So, critically Rafah is now also the only entry point for humanitarian aid - and the only exit point for people wanting to leave.

Yesterday, the crossing was opening for controlled and limited time periods to allow civilians to cross to Egypt. The UN says 81 wounded Palestinians were taken to an Egyptian field hospital, and 345 foreign passport-holders used the crossing as well.

There's more about the crossing in the video below by the BBC's Amal Saeed.

Image source, Getty Images

A few hours ago, we heard from Australia's foreign minister who confirmed that some of the country's citizens were among those who yesterday managed to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

Speaking at a news conference in Adelaide, Penny Wong said 20 Australians, plus two family members and a permanent resident were met in Egypt yesterday. "I'm so relieved and grateful this first cohort was able to cross," she said.

She also issued a message to Israel: "The international community will not accept ongoing civilian deaths, so when Israel's friends urge Israel to exercise restraint, when Israel's friends urge Israel to protect civilian lives, it is critical that Israel listens."

She continued: "It matters for Israel's own security which faces grave risks of the conflict spreads."

Image source, Getty Images

We've also had an updated death toll overnight from the Hamas-run ministry of health in Gaza, related specifically to strikes over the past two days in the northern area of Jabalia, home to a sprawling refugee camp.

The ministry said 1,000 people had either been killed, injured or missing after Israeli strikes in the camp. The latest statement doesn't provide a further breakdown of that number - though a previous toll said 195 people were killed.

Several buildings were destroyed in the strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Israeli military said it had successfully targeted a senior Hamas commander and killed dozens of fighters.

Image source, Reuters

More than 20,000 wounded people are still trapped in the Gaza Strip, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

Egyptian officials said 335 foreigners or dual-nationals, plus 76 seriously wounded and sick people, were brought across the Rafah crossing for medical treatment on Wednesday. AFP reported that ambulances were seen taking wounded evacuees to Egyptian field hospitals.

But MSF has called for a greater number of people to be evacuated - and for a ceasefire and more critical aid to to be delivered to Gaza, where there are concerns a humanitarian crisis is unfolding.

"I was shocked by the fact that everyone there was asking for food, was asking for water," Philippe Lazzarini, the most senior UN official allowed into Gaza since the war began, said.

Image source, Reuters

Israel's defence minister Yoav Gallant says the Israeli military has dropped more than 10,000 munitions on Gaza City alone since the start of the current conflict and is progressing towards its goal of "eliminating Hamas".

More than 8,700 people have been killed since Israel began heavily bombing the territory, a large proportion of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

More than 400 people who were trapped in Gaza, including some British and foreign nationals, have now made the crossing into Egypt.

The crossing is expected to open again later today to allow more to leave the territory.