Israel is continuing its search of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which both Israeli and US intelligence say was a key command centre for Hamas.

Last night, the BBC, along with one US network, was taken by the Israeli army into a small part of the hospital.

Israeli military restrictions meant they weren't allowed to speak to any doctors or patients at the hospital, but there was no censorship on the words used to describe the visit.

BBC correspondent Lucy Williamson was shown rifles, ammunition and body armour, which Israel says Hamas had hidden there.

Read her full account of being inside the Al-Shifa hospital here.

Image source, Police Spokesperson’s Unit

As we reported earlier, four people have been wounded after gunmen attacked a checkpoint near Jerusalem.

Israeli police have now given an update - saying that the three gunmen were killed by security forces. They also say the trio were residents of the Hebron area, in the West Bank.

Police also said M-16 rifles, handguns, "hundreds" of rounds of ammunition, 10 fully loaded magazines, two hatchets and uniforms resembling Israeli military attire were found in the vehicle the gunmen arrived in.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid has called for PM Benjamin Netanyahu to step down over what he says is the government's poor handling of the war against Hamas., external

Lapid says he wants a "national reconstruction government" to be created - it could be lead by Netanyahu's party Likud, but he wants the PM to go.

Following on from comments to Israeli media, Lapid tweets, external that the Israeli army and public have shown resilience since Hamas's 7 October attack but "the weak link is the government, and especially the prime minister".

"I hear the voices saying this is not the time. We waited 40 days, there is no more time. What we need right now is a government that will deal with nothing but security and the economy," he says.

Lapid did not join the Israeli war cabinet that was created after 7 October, unlike centrist opposition leader Benny Gantz.

Image source, Israel Defense Forces

Israeli soldiers have today continued their search of Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital. Meanwhile, Gaza's Hamas-controlled health ministry says Israeli armoured bulldozers have "destroyed parts of the southern entrance" of the hospital.

Last night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were "continuing the precise and targeted operation against Hamas" in Al-Shifa. The statement also said IDF soldiers had engaged with and killed "a number of terrorists" within the complex.

Israeli forces entered Al-Shifa on Wednesday and said they were conducting their operation in a "specified area" in the hospital. Later, the IDF said it found Hamas' "operational centre" in the hospital, sharing images of what it said were Hamas weapons and equipment.

Hamas denies operating there and the BBC cannot independently verify claims by either side.

Our correspondent Lucy Williamson has been at the site with the Israeli military - we'll have more from her for you to read soon.

The Israeli military says two more of its soldiers have been killed in fighting in Gaza since its ground invasion began in late October - bringing the total to 50.

Israel Defense Forces said Kfir Itzhak Franco and Asaf Master were the latest soldiers to have been killed.

Image source, Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Three gunmen attacked a checkpoint near Jerusalem this morning and wounded four people, Israel's police has said, adding that one of the victims is in a "very serious condition".

The police added that officers had shot and "neutralised" a suspect in the attack at the Tunnels checkpoint between Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Around 50 civilians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli air strikes carried out on Wednesday night, according to an official Palestinian news agency.

Wafa reported that Israeli military planes targeted the Sabra neighbourhood in the centre of the Gaza Strip, hitting a mosque.

The news agency said further strikes left three dead at the Malaysian school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza and that a child was killed in a bombing in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.

Israel's military has not commented on the claims, but says its air strikes target Hamas infrastructure. The BBC has been unable to verify the reports.

On Monday, the Hamas-run health ministry said 11,240 people had been killed, including 4,630 children, since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October.

Image source, Reuters

As we've reported, Israeli forces announced this morning that they used fighter jets to attack the house of Ismail Haniyeh, who is widely considered Hamas's overall leader, last night.

Haniyeh was elected head of Hamas's political bureau in 2017, but has been living in Qatar for several years.

He was a prominent member of Hamas in the late 1980s and was imprisoned by Israel for three years.

He then spent a year in exile before returning to Gaza. In 1997 he was appointed head of the office of Hamas's spiritual leader, strengthening his position.

Haniyeh was appointed Palestinian prime minister in 2006 by President Mahmoud Abbas but was dismissed a year later after the group ousted Abbas' Fatah party from the Gaza Strip in a week of deadly violence.

Haniyeh rejected his sacking as "unconstitutional", stressing that his government "would not abandon its national responsibilities towards the Palestinian people", and continued to rule in Gaza.

Read more about the Hamas leadership here.

Israeli forces say they have attacked the house of a senior Hamas leader, external, Ismail Haniyeh, in Gaza.

Though Haniyeh, the head of the group's political bureau, lives in Qatar, the Israeli military claim his home was "used as terrorist infrastructure" and "a meeting place for the organisation's senior officials".

They said they used fighter jets on Wednesday night to strike the property.

The BBC has not independently been able to verify the IDF's claim.

How the dead are counted in Gazapublished at 06:32 Greenwich Mean Time 16 November 2023

06:32 GMT 16 November 2023

Image source, EPA

The chaotic situation in the territory makes getting accurate information on the numbers of people who have died extremely demanding.

And Palestinian officials have said there are now "significant difficulties" in obtaining updated information because of the interruption of communications in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run health ministry is Gaza's official source for death numbers.

The last death roll reported on Monday evening said 11,240 people had been killed, including 4,630 children, since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October.

The figures have been publicly doubted by Israel and US President Joe Biden. But international organisations, such as the UN's World Heath Organization (WHO), have said they have no reason to disbelieve them.

Health ministry officials say the death figures are recorded by medical professionals before being passed on to them and the figures only include people recorded dead in hospital.

The figures do not distinguish between military and civilian deaths. And, because they do not take into account those who died at the scene of blasts whose bodies have not been found, or buried immediately, they may be an undercount, Gazan officials say.

The BBC has been looking in detail at how the casualty figures for Gaza are counted - read more about how we do this work here.

Both Israel and the US have said Hamas has a command base underneath the Gaza strip's biggest hospital, something Hamas has consistently denied.

Israel says the base is part of the organisation's intricate systems of tunnels built under much of the enclave.

This map shows where Hamas’s underground network of tunnels are located, according to the IDF, which Israel says are used as operations bases.

Any hospital in a conflict is protected by the rules of war - they shall not be the target of an attack.

But in some circumstances, hospitals can lose that protective status if they're being used to "commit, outside their humanitarian function... acts harmful to the enermy", according to Protocol 1 of the Geneva Conventions.

Israel has said that is the case with Gaza's largest hospital, Al-Shifa- a claim disputed by Hamas and hospital authorities.

But there are several hurdles that still remain - as the BBC's Analysis editor Ros Atkins explains.

A man has been arrested in Tokyo on Thursday morning after crashing his car through a barrier about 100m (328 ft) from the Israeli embassy, injuring one police officer.

Video of the incident, external showed the car after having rammed through the barricade. Japanese broadcaster NHK said the man, in his 50s, is believed to be part of a right-wing group.

It is not immediately clear if the incident was deliberate.

Israeli embassies and consulates have stepped up security around the world in the past month.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), external has reported that it was responding to a "number of launches towards Israeli territory" from Lebanon, in a post late on Wednesday.

The IDF also claimed it had used tanks to strike a Hezbollah observation post in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah's TV channel, Al Manar, reported that the group had attacked Israeli military sites on the border with Lebanon where villages are said to have been shelled.

Since Hamas's attack on 7 October, Hezbollah has been firing into northern Israel - to which Israel has responded.

Hezbollah designated a terrorist organisation by Western states, Israel, Gulf Arab countries and the Arab League.

Yvette Tan
Live editor

It's just past 06:30 in Gaza, on the 41st day of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

If you're just joining us now, here's what's happened over the last few hours:

• US President Joe Biden has said he is "mildly hopeful" that there could be a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza
• Speaking after a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, he said the US had seen "great co-operation" from Qatar, which has been leading ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas
• He also spoke about Hamas's 7 October attacks on Israel, saying: "The idea they're gonna stop and not do anything is not realistic"
• His comments come a day after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had launched a "precise and targeted" operation at the Al-Shifa Hospital
• The IDF has accused Hamas of housing a command-and-control centre in a tunnel network underneath the hospital - a claim repeatedly denied by Hamas but supported by US intelligence
• Israel began striking Gaza after Hamas's 7 October attack which saw 1,200 people killed and the hostages taken
• According to the last count issued by the Hamas-run health ministry, five days ago, at least 11,000 people in Gaza have been killed since 7 October, including more than 4,500 children

Image source, Getty Images

Police say at least six of their officers have been injured after scores of demonstrators clashed with the authorities outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) offices in Washington.

Officers in riot gear used pepper spray to disperse the protesters, who were calling for an end to Israel's military activity in Gaza.

At least one person has so far been arrested, US Capitol Police say., external

California lawmaker Brad Sherman was among those who had to be evacuated from the DNC.

"Protestors grew violent, pepper spraying police officers and attempting to break into the building," he wrote on social media. , external

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden says he is "mildly hopeful" there will be a deal to free the more than 200 people being held hostage in Gaza.

He told a press conference in California earlier that he didn't want to speak prematurely but that the US had seen "great co-operation" from Qatar, which has been leading the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Speaking about the recent operation by Israel in Gaza's largest hospital - Al-Shifa - the president says Hamas committed a "war crime" by having a base under there.

Israel has displayed what it claims are weapons and other equipment belonging to Hamas that were recovered from the hospital.

Hamas denies that it uses medical facilities as a cover for its operations.

Biden says the US has urged Israel to be careful that civilians are being kept safe during the search for Hamas strongholds.

Image source, Getty Images

It is hard to know what is going on in Gaza City tonight but we are hearing occasional explosions over a live video feed from the area, which is shrouded in darkness.

On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were launching a "precise and targeted" operation at the Al-Shifa hospital.

During the raid, a journalist inside the hospital told the BBC that commandos had entered the main emergency department.

Soldiers moved from room to room questioning patients and staff, while younger men were ordered into the courtyard and told to strip down to their underwear for interrogation, he said.

Fourteen hours later, reports reached the BBC that the troops were beginning to withdraw. The IDF then published a video on Wednesday evening which it said showed weapons and equipment stashed inside various departments by Hamas.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of housing a command-and-control centre in a tunnel network underneath the hospital - a claim the US says its own intelligence supports but Hamas denies.

In Gaza's south, the onset of torrential rain and colder weather is compounding the suffering of the tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering there, the UN has said.

In Rafah, Israel has allowed a delivery of 25,000 litres of fuel to cross into Gaza for the first time since the start of the war.

Away from the territory, there are reports that Qatari mediators have been attempting to broker a deal between Hamas and Israel over the release of some of the hostages kidnapped by the militants during their 7 October attack.

Also on the diplomatic front, the UN Security Council has voted to back a resolution calling for "extended humanitarian pauses" in Gaza, after failing to agree on four previous votes.

In the UK, politicians rejected against an opposition party motion which called for a ceasefire in Gaza by 293 votes to 125.

Israel says 1,200 people have been killed since the 7 October attack by Hamas militants, and 239 are still being held captive in Gaza.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has not issued new figures for dead and injured Palestinians for several days now. Its most recent count said more than 11,000 people had been killed during Israel's retaliation - of whom more than 4,500 were children.

Mark Regev, who is a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has told the BBC News Channel he is sure "more and more material" from what he says is Hamas's subterranean network under the Al-Shifa hospital will be shared.

It comes after the Israel Defense Forces published footage from inside the hospital, which purported to show Hamas weapons and technological assets found during its day-long operation at the medical facility in Gaza City.

Regev went on to tell the BBC's Newshour programme on the World Service that mounting a military operation at the hospital was justified:

Hamas has denied Israeli claims that it has a command-and-control centre beneath the Al-Shifa hospital and on Wednesday night described such allegations as "lies and cheap propaganda".

Image source, Israel Defense Forces via Reuters

Image source, EPA

We've got some reaction coming in after the UN Security Council backed a resolution calling for "extended humanitarian pauses" in Gaza.

It passed with 12 members voting for it, and three abstaining - the US, UK and Russia.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, says the resolution is "disconnected from reality and meaningless".

He says Israel will "continue acting according to international law" and criticises the motion for not mentioning Hamas's attack on the country on 7 October.

That sentiment was echoed by the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who says she is "horrified that a few members of this Council still cannot bring themselves to condemn the barbaric terrorist attack that Hamas carried out against Israel".

"What are they afraid of?"

Louis Charbonneau, the UN director at Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental organisation, welcomed the resolution.

It "sent a rare and powerful message to Israel, Hamas and other armed groups that compliance with international humanitarian law is non-negotiable", he said.