Image source, Getty Images

The Israel Defense Forces has reported heavy fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip overnight and claimed "dozens" of fatalities on the Hamas side.

The IDF said Hamas fired anti-tank missiles, detonated explosives and hurled grenades at Israeli forces.

It said it responded with artillery fire, tank fire, an aerial strike from a helicopter and a missile strike from a navy boat.

The IDF also reported a ground encounter between its troops and Hamas.

Thai officials say they have talked directly with Hamas to secure the release of their nationals who were taken hostage by Hamas.

The head of the Thai negotiating mission, former MP Areepen Uttarasin, said he met with Hamas representatives in Tehran on 26 October where he received assurances that the Thai hostages will be released at the "right time".

"I asked them to release them because they are innocent," he told reporters in Bangkok.

At least 19 Thai farm workers are believed to have been abducted by Hamas from southern Israel last 7 October, with many more still missing.

More than 25,000 Thais working on farms and orchards in Israel. They are the backbone of Israel's foreign farm labour.

Read more about the Thais caught up in the Israel-Gaza war here.

Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

On the ground, Israel’s military spokesman says that with back up from the air and sea, troops have now broken through Hamas’s front lines of defence in northern Gaza.

An Israeli commander said Israeli forces were at "the gates of Gaza City".

Overnight, loud explosions and shelling could be heard in the city, including close to al-Quds Hospital, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israeli authorities had previously warned the hospital to evacuate immediately. However, UN officials said that was impossible without endangering the lives of patients.

Israel's military has confirmed that one more of its soldiers has been killed in fighting in northern Gaza.

This brings the number of Israeli soldiers killed since ground operations in Gaza were expanded last Friday to 17.

The son of a doctor trapped in Gaza is still desperately hoping that his father will be evacuated.

"It's been a roller coaster of three weeks really, sometimes just feels like a bit of a bad dream," Salim Hamid told the BBC's Newsday programme.

"And we're just really stuck to our phones trying to find any hope of pauses and ceasefires to be able to get aid in and to get people out."

His father Abdulkadir is a transplant surgeon in Liverpool who has done kidney transplants in Gaza for the past ten years, working with a charity run by the World Health Organisation. He arrived in Gaza on 6 October - the day before the Hamas attack on israel - and has been stuck there ever since.

And despite "rising hope" that he might leave for Egypt via the Rafah crossing on Thursday after being placed on a list, it did not happen. "It was quite difficult," Hamid said.

Image source, Reuters

Pope Francis has said that a two-state solution is the "wise" way to solve the conflict.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster RAI, Francis said there had to be "two well-defined states", with Jerusalem given special status.

"The war in the Holy Land frightens me," Francis said. "How will these people end this story?"

Francis said an escalation of the violence "would mean the end of so many things and so many lives".

Francis said he spoke every day by phone to priests and nuns running a parish in Gaza, where 560 people were taking shelter, mostly Christians and some Muslims.

"For now, thank God, Israeli forces are respecting that parish," he said.

Read more about the two-state solution and its alternatives here.

Image source, Reuters

More people are expected to cross from Gaza into Egypt today after the Rafah crossing opened for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war erupted.

Like yesterday, a list of some 500 names of people who are allowed to cross, drawn up by Egypt, will be posted on the crossing, the BBC's Rushdi Abu Alouf tells Newshour.

More than 400 people were able to leave Gaza yesterday in a chaotic yet managable fashion, he said.

Some people who went to the Rafah crossing yesterday were unaware that if their names were not on the list, they would not be allowed to enter Egypt.

Leaving Gaza is critical especially for those who need medical care as hospitals are running out of supplies and fighting continues.

For more on the Rafah crossing and why it is important in the ongoing conflict, click here.

Jon Donnison
BBC News

Image source, Yoni Asher

Yoni Asher says "hell" is the only way to describe how he feels whenever he sees a five-second TikTok video of his wife Doron and their two young daughters held hostage by Hamas.

As a father, he says he would worry about four-year-old Raz and two-year-old Aviv getting hurt while jumping on their sofa. Now, they are caught in the Israel-Hamas war that has dragged for three weeks and with no end in sight.

"Children need to be off limits. I can't hate not even the children of my so-called enemies. How can you hate a child?" Yoni tells the BBC.

Yoni's wife and daughters were among hostages taken from southern Israel near the border with Gaza last 7 October. The sisters are believed to be among the youngest of the captives.

Read more about Yoni's story here.

Ayeshea Perera
Live editor in Singapore

Image source, Getty Images

It's nearing 7am in Gaza where we have seen yet another night of heavy fighting - we heard continuous explosions and saw bright red flames on a live video stream.

Here is what else we have been covering:

• US President Joe Biden called for a 'humanitarian pause' during a campaign rally after a woman interrupted him mid-speech, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. Biden responded: "I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out." The White House later clarified he meant hostages and humanitarian aid
• More than 400 foreign passport holders and injured Palestinians have been allowed to leave Gaza for the first time in more than three weeks - with British and US citizens among them
• The Rafah border crossing, until today, had only been opened to allow humanitarian aid for Palestinians into Gaza
• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), commenting on the most recent Jabalia blast on Wednesday, told the BBC that IDF fighter jets struck a Hamas command and control complex in Jabaliya, adding that "two Hamas terrorists were eliminated in the strike"
• The UN's human rights office condemned Tuesday's attack, saying the number of civilian deaths "could amount to war crimes" by Israel
• Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, the commander of the IDF’s 162nd Division, says IDF forces have advanced deep into Gaza, “at the gates of Gaza City.”

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden has called for a "pause" in fighting between Israel and Hamas to allow the release of hostages.

He was responding to a woman in the audience at a campaign event in Minnesota, who urged him to call for a ceaefire.

"I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out," he said.

The White House later clarified that the president was referring to humanitarian aid and the 240 hostages being held by Hamas.

The woman was escorted out by security while singing "ceasefire now" but Biden went on to say that the situation is "incredibly complicated" for both Israelis as well as the Muslim world.

"I supported a two-state solution; I have from the very beginning,” he added. "The fact of the matter is that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. A flat-out terrorist organisation."

The sun has risen in Gaza City this Thursday morning and we have heard the constant sounds of explosions on live video feed for the last few hours, indicating another night of intense fighting.

The Israeli military has not yet commented on its overnight operations in Gaza.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society has also posted video taken from the window of Al-Quds hospital in Gaza that captured sounds of explosions and bright flames.

Sam Cabral
BBC News in Washington

Image source, The Seddiq Law Firm

Almost a month since the war broke out, Folla Saqer and her two children are still trapped in Gaza.

Her husband, Ramiz Younis, waits with bated breath for news that they have finally gotten out.

The children - Zain, two, and Zaina, nine months - are American citizens. Along with Ms Saqer, a permanent legal resident, they are among roughly 1,000 people who want to cross into neighbouring Egypt and begin their return to the US.

On Wednesday, more than 400 foreign passport holders and injured Gazans were allowed through the Rafah crossing for the first time since the war began.

The US state department has said that includes "a number of American citizens", though it declined to provide specifics, only adding that exits will "continue over the next several days".

But a lack of clear information - as well as what critics say is a haphazard and often vague correspondence from government officials - is stoking growing frustration among some Palestinian Americans as they, or their families, scramble to get out of Gaza.

You can read the full story here.

Hezbollah has said on Thursday that it destroyed an Israeli drone flying over southern Lebanon with a surface-to-air missile.

But a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, Daniel Hagari, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that there was "no damage" to its remotely-piloted aircraft.

Hagari said Israeli forces attacked the squad that fired at their drone.

This is the second time in a week that Hezbollah claims to have shot down an Israeli drone as border clashes simmer.

A woman at a campaign event in Minnesota on Wednesday confronted Joe Biden demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Mr. President, you care about Jewish people. As a rabbi, I need you to call for a ceasefire right now,” a woman who later identified herself to reporters as Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg said, interrupting Biden mid-speech.

Even as the audience tried to drown her out, Biden responded: "I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out."

The White House later clarified that the president was referring to the 240 hostages being held by Hamas.

Rosenberg was escorted out by security while singing "ceasefire now" but Biden went on to say that the situation is "incredibly complicated" for both Israelis as well as the Muslim world.

"I supported a two-state solution; I have from the very beginning,” he added. "The fact of the matter is that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. A flat-out terrorist organisation."

All 10 Japanese nationals - along with their eight Palestinian family members - who wanted to leave Gaza have been evacuated to Egypt, the top Japanese government spokesperson said on Thursday

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also told a press conference that one Japanese national living in Gaza has remained there with their family.

Image source, Getty Images

The US House of Representatives has declined to formally censure Democratic Rep Rashida Tlaib after she spoke at a rally that called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Far-right Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene had accused Tlaib of “antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the US Capitol Complex”.

But the House rejected the motion on Wednesday evening in a bipartisan 222-186 vote.

In a statement, Tlaib - who is a Muslim - called the resolution “deeply Islamophobic".

"I will continue to work for a just and lasting peace that upholds the human rights and dignity of all people, and ensures that no person, no child has to suffer or live in fear of violence.”

Bethany Bell
BBC News, Vienna

Image source, AFP

Austrian leaders have condemned an attack on the Jewish part of Vienna's Central Cemetery.

Some time between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, a swastika was painted on a wall and a fire broke out at a ceremonial hall.

The head of the Jewish community in Austria, Oskar Deutsch, said it was frightening to see a swastika and the name of Hitler sprayed on the wall of a Jewish cemetery. He said the fire had damaged the foyer of the ceremonial hall.

Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer strongly condemned the attack and promised to fight antisemitism with all political and legal means. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said he was deeply shocked. He said the number of antisemitic incidents in Austria had increased significantly in recent weeks and he demanded that they stop.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Reuters

A student at an elite New York college has been held in jail after appearing in court accused of posting violent threats against Jewish students.

Prosecutors say Patrick Dai, 21, made threats to bring a gun to the Cornell University campus and rape Jewish women and "behead any Jewish babies".

The engineering student appeared in court in an orange jump suit.

He has been charged with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications.

The crime is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Read full story.

Patrick Jackson
Live editor, in London

Greetings from London where I’ve just taken over from my colleagues in Washington DC as we bring you live updates and analysis through the night.

Wednesday brought a moment of hope when the Rafah crossing to Egypt in the south of the Gaza Strip opened to civilians for the first time in more than three weeks.

World leaders welcomed the move which saw 335 foreign passport holders and 76 injured Gaza Palestinians able to leave the territory blockaded by Israel.

But in the north of the Strip, where Hamas has its stronghold in Gaza City, the fighting rages. On the live video stream we’re watching there is little to be seen of the city which is largely enveloped in darkness, but you can hear explosion after explosion and the periodic rattle of machine-gun fire.

In the words of one Israeli commander a few hours ago, Israeli troops are "at the gates” of Gaza’s capital as they pursue their campaign to destroy Hamas.

The Australian government says that 20 citizens who had registered with them left Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday.

Consular officials had contacted Australians ahead of the rumoured border opening to tell them they were on a list to be allowed into Egypt and should try to make their way there.

It’s unclear how many got the message and were able to travel.

Australia’s Assistant Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Watts has told ABC News that the government is aware of 65 Australians who are still in Gaza.