Anthony Zurcher
Reporting from Ramallah in the West Bank

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced trip to the West Bank City of Ramallah, where he met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The secretary flew from Amman to Tel Aviv on Sunday morning and made the 90-minute drive to the West Bank city in a motorcade of armoured vans and SUVs with dark-tinted windows.

I am among the journalists travelling with Blinken. On the highway, we passed several Jewish settlements on the West Bank, notable for their high walls and barbed wire.

Word of the secretary’s visit spread in the West Bank well before his arrival - a subject of concern for the US entourage given the tense situation in the region.

The crossing into the West Bank that we entered by is designated as an industrial crossing but also used as a VIP entrance. It was quiet, however. Half a dozen large trucks were lined up on the Palestinian side, waiting to cross.

Once in Ramallah, the drive was smooth through the hilly town. Palestinian Presidential Guards, wearing red berets and carrying automatic rifles, blocked off intersections along the way.

Clumps of Palestinian bystanders watched the procession go by, many with puzzled expressions. A soldier chatted with a group of young children. They looked on with more obvious interest.

Image source, Reuters

And back to the occupied West Bank, where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has held talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Blinken "reaffirmed the US commitment to the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance and resumption of essential services" in Gaza, according to a spokesperson for the US State Department.

He also made clear that Palestinians "must not be forcibly displaced", Matthew Miller said.

Blinken and Abbas discussed efforts to "restore calm and stability" in the West Bank, including the need to "stop extremist violence against Palestinians and hold those accountable responsible", he added.

Miller said Blinken reiterated that the US remains "committed to advancing equal measures of dignity and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike".

Blinken also expressed the commitment of the US to working toward the "realisation of the Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for the establishment of a Palestinian state".

An update on the situation in Rafah now.

Between 18 and 20 injured people waiting at on the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing are expected to be able to cross into Egypt for treatment today, sources tell the BBC.

It is also expected that more injured people and some foreign nationals will be allowed to cross, sources at the crossing told our BBC Arabic colleagues.

Earlier, Egyptian security sources told Reuters news agency that evacuations from Gaza to Egypt through the crossing had been suspended since Saturday.

Hundreds of people with foreign passports went to the border yesterday, but the gate did not open.

The agency cited a security source and a medical source as saying the decision came after an Israeli strike on an ambulance in Gaza being used to transport injured people.

Image source, Reuters

On Saturday, we reported that the UN refugee agency (Unrwa) had confirmed a school it runs in the Jabalia refugee camp had been hit.

Juliette Touma, Unrwa's director of communications, told the BBC the school, which is functioning as a shelter for people fleeing fighting, had been hit in two places - a courtyard containing tents housing displaced people, and next to a wall where women were baking bread.

She said Unrwa did not know the cause of the incident, but the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said it was an Israeli strike and had killed at least 15 people and wounded 70 more.

This morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters news agency that a preliminary inquiry suggested it had not targeted the location "but the explosion may have been a result of IDF fire aimed at another target".

We can now bring you some pictures of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arriving at the Palestinian Authority headquarters in the occupied West Bank, and meeting with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Blinken's stop in Ramallah was not announced in the initial itinerary for his diplomatic tour.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

As we've been reporting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the middle of a diplomatic push in the region - having visited Tel Aviv on Friday and Amman on Saturday.

Today he is heading to the city of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where he is expected to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas - also known as Abu Mazen - has been the leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) since 2005, and represents the Fatah political party, a bitter rival of Hamas, which runs Gaza.

The PA governs the parts of the West Bank that are not under full Israeli control.

Blinken is set to head to Turkey later in the day.

Image source, Reuters

We have received these images from Reuters news agency of the al-Maghazi refugee camp this morning, in the aftermath of what the Hamas-run health ministry said was a deadly air strike late on Saturday.

The ministry said more than 30 people were killed.

An Israeli military spokesperson said they were looking into whether the IDF had been operating in the area at the time, according to the AFP news agency.

The BBC has not been able to independently verify the casualty figures or what happened.

Image source, Reuters

Several countries, as well as the United Nations, have called for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

But others - including the UK, US and EU do not support the idea, saying it would benefit Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organisation by the US and several Western governments.

As we've been reporting, the US is instead pushing for a humanitarian pause.

But what's the difference?

Compared to a formal ceasefire, humanitarian pauses tend to last for short periods of time, sometimes just a few hours - and usually cover a defined period and location.

They are typically implemented purely with the aim of providing humanitarian support, as opposed to achieving long-term political solutions, according to the United Nations, external.

Ceasefires, meanwhile, are intended to be long-term, and often have an aim to allow parties to engage in dialogue, including the possibility of reaching a permanent political settlement, the UN says.

Image source, Reuters

President Joe Biden has suggested there may have been some progress towards a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

But what exactly did he say?.

On Saturday, Biden was asked by reporters if there was any progress on achieving a pause.

The US president simply said "yes" and gave a thumbs-up as he left a church in Delaware.

Last week, Biden called for a "pause" in Gaza fighting. Responding to a heckler at an event in Minneapolis he said "I think we need a pause" to allow hostages to get out.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is currently in the Middle East talking to leaders, pushing for a humanitarian pause.

Image source, EPA

As we reported yesterday, the exit of foreigners from Gaza via the Rafah border crossing has been stalled due to an apparent dispute over evacuating injured patients.

Hundreds of foreign nationals and injured patients have left via the crossing in the past few days. On Saturday, however, Palestinian sources said nobody was let through.

Yesterday, the UK Foreign Office confirmed that British citizens in Gaza had been unable to leave, with a spokesperson telling the BBC: "We are disappointed that the Rafah crossing has been temporarily closed today.

"This continues to be a complex and challenging situation and we are using all diplomatic channels to press for its reopening in coordination with our international partners."

Aid trucks have, however, been continuing to enter Gaza through the crossing - the UN says 30 lorries carrying humanitarian supplies crossed into the enclave on Saturday.

We will be keeping a close watch on any developments around the crossing today - and we'll update you as soon as we can.

The Israeli army says it will open a four-hour window for people in northern Gaza to move to the south, external.

The route for evacuation will be the Salah al-Din Road - the main north-south highway in the Gaza Strip - between 10:00 and 14:00 local time (0800-12:00 GMT).

There was a similar plan on Saturday, but the army said Hamas gunmen had attacked Israeli troops operating on the road, accusing them of wanting civilians to remain as "human shields".

As a reminder, Israel has declared northern Gaza an evacuation zone, calling on residents to leave for the south - though it has also carried out airstrikes in the south.

But some 350,000 - 400,000 people currently remain in the north, according to a US envoy.

Image source, .

Image source, Getty Images

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has given a morning update, saying its ground, air and naval forces have struck "more than 2,500 terror targets" since the beginning of its ground operations in Gaza.

Overnight, it says Israeli troops directed aircraft to strike a Hamas military compound, which it says contained "command and control centres, observation posts, and additional terrorist infrastructure".

It says Israeli troops are "continuing to eliminate terrorists" including in "close quarter combat".

We're still trying to build up a picture of military action overnight, but as we've been reporting, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 30 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp - and Israel says it is investigating whether its forces were operating in the area at the time.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 9,400 people have been killed in the Strip since 7 October, when Israeli began bombing the enclave in retaliation for the deadly attacks on 7 October, in which Hamas gunmen killed 1,400 people and took around 240 hostage including women, children and elderly people.

Image source, Reuters

As well as the UK (see previous post) there have been huge protests held around the world against Israel's continued attacks on Gaza.

Thousands took part in rallies in the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa calling for a ceasefire and in solidarity with the Palestinians.

In Washington DC, demonstrators staged the largest protest since the conflict began on Saturday, near the White House, with some criticising President Biden's support for Israel.

Protesters carried Palestinian flags and placards with slogans such as "Palestinian Lives Matter" and "End the siege on Gaza now".

Paris saw its first permitted large pro- Palestinian demonstration, after previous attempts were banned over public disorder concerns.

Image source, PA Media

Tens of thousands of protesters joined rallies and sit-ins in dozens of towns and cities across the UK on Saturday, calling for an end to Israeli attacks in Gaza.

The Metropolitan Police estimate there were 30,000 in central London alone.

At Edinburgh and Glasgow rail stations, and at London's Charing Cross, people sat on the floor stopping travellers from catching trains, police said.

In London, 29 people were arrested for offences including inciting racial hatred.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the Terrorism Act in connection with the wording on a banner. One man was arrested on suspicion of making antisemitic comments during a speech after he was identified on social media.

You can read more about the protests here

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said Israel carried out a deadly air strike in the central Gaza Strip. A ministry spokesman said more than 30 people had been killed in the al-Maghazi refugee camp on Saturday night.

An Israeli military spokesperson said they were looking into whether the IDF had been operating in the area at time, according to the AFP news agency.

AFP also spoke to journalist Mohammed Alaloul who told the agency three members of his family – two sons and a brother, had been killed.

The BBC has not verified what happened in the incident.

Image source, Reuters

Thousands of Israelis joined a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday organised by the families of some 240 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Chanting "Bring them home now", they called for the hostages to be freed after a month in captivity.

Many held photos of the hostages - who include children and the elderly.

In Jerusalem, police held back hundreds of protesters outside the residence of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for his resignation.

Nathan Williams
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

It's just gone 07:00 in the morning in Gaza and Israel, and 05:00 in London where we are restarting our live coverage of the ongoing war.

The top US diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Turkey today, following on from his trip to Jordan where he met Middle Eastern leaders – and heard demands for a ceasefire.

There have been protests in Turkey ahead of Blinken's visit, and the country's leader has been outspoken against Israel and its Western backers as the death toll rises in Gaza.

Blinken has reaffirmed his backing for "humanitarian pauses" so that civilians can get help – and President Joe Biden on Saturday suggested there had been some progress on the issue.

So far though, Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said there can be no temporary ceasefire until all Israeli hostages are released.

We'll continue to follow developments and keep you updated on all the news lines from the conflict.