Summary

  • Hundreds of people have been leaving al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City - the site that Israeli forces have been searching for days

  • Pictures show columns of Palestinians fleeing on foot, some waving white flags

  • A journalist among those leaving the hospital said there was gunfire and explosions overnight, and that bulldozers had dug huge holes in the hospital yard

  • The hospital director said the Israeli military had ordered an evacuation but the IDF denied this, saying it helped people leave after the director requested it

  • The Hamas-run health ministry says 120 patients remain at the hospital, along with premature babies

  • Israel accuses Hamas of running a command centre under the hospital - it has shown pictures of an alleged tunnel shaft and weapons as evidence so far

  • Reports from elsewhere in northern Gaza say a UN school used as a shelter has been hit - Israel says it's investigating the claims

  • The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 12,000 people have been killed in the territory since Israel began its campaign against Hamas

  • It began heavily bombing the Gaza Strip after Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage in the 7 October attacks on Israel

Live Reporting

Edited by Sam Hancock

  1. Israel warns people to evacuate southern Gaza areas

    Israeli forces have warned people in some towns in the Khan Younis area to evacuate their homes and head to shelters.

    Khan Younis is the largest city in southern Gaza - where people fled to after being told to evacuate the north.

    Israeli forces on Wednesday night dropped leaflets over four towns - Bani Shuhaila, Khuzaa, Abassan and Qarara - which were home to more than 100,000 people before the south was overwhelmed with displaced people.

    "For your safety, you need to evacuate your places of residence immediately and head to known shelters. Anyone near terrorists or their facilities puts their life at risk, and every house used by terrorists will be targeted," the leaflets said, according to Reuters.

    Weeks ago, similar leaflets were dropped over northern Gaza ahead of Israel launching its ground offensive.

    In October, the population of Khan Younis went from 400,000 residents to more than a million as hundreds of thousands left northern Gaza.

    Thousands of displaced people are now living in makeshift camps, hospitals and school grounds in Khan Younis.

    Diagram of displacement of Gaza residents from the north to the south of the territory

  2. Who was Yehudit Weiss?

    Earlier we reported the Israeli military saying that the body of the hostage Yehudit Weiss was found in a structure next to Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza.

    The 65-year-old was among the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas during the 7 October attack.

    She had been recovering from breast cancer and didn't have her medication when she was taken, according to the Bring Them Home Now group.

    Her husband Shmuel was murdered by Hamas attackers, according to the Israeli foreign ministry.

    Bring Them Home's website describes Weiss as "a loving full-time grandmother" who loved culture, sports, travelling and baking.

    We've compiled the stories of some of those taken from Israel on 7 October here.

    Yehudit WeissFAMILY HANDOUT

    The IDF says Yehudit Weiss was kidnapped by Hamas from her home in southern Israel on 7 October

  3. Israel reports strikes on 'senior' Hamas figures in Gaza

    Here's what we've heard so far from the Israeli military on its strikes on "underground sites".

    They said the strikes were aimed at "senior" Hamas figures in two different sites in Gaza in "the past few days".

    "A number of senior Hamas commanders were hiding in one of them, including Ahmed Randor, the head of Hamas’ northern Gaza brigade and Hyman Sian, the head of the Hamas rocket brigade," said military spokesman Daniel Hagari.

    Another underground site which was attacked, he said, contained "senior members of Hamas’ political wing, including Raukhi Mushta, who is a very close associate of Yahya Sinwar, Asam Dalyis, head of the Hamas government in Gaza who is close to Ismael Haniyah, and Samech El Sarg, who is also a close associate to Sinwar and other senior Hamas figures in Gaza".

    Both sites were "significantly damaged", the Israeli spokesman said without giving further details.

    The Israeli report could not be verified independently.

  4. If you're just joining us

    Tessa Wong
    Live page editor, Singapore

    If you're just joining us, you can read our previous live page reporting here, but here's a quick summary of what has happened:

    • Israel says it attacked two underground sites in Gaza in recent days, causing "significant damage". The strikes were aimed at senior Hamas figures who were in hiding, including the head of Hamas's rocket brigade and northern Gaza brigade, according to the Israeli military.
    • They also say troops in Gaza found the body of hostage Yehudit Weiss in a "structure adjacent to the Shifa hospital", where the military is continuing "targeted activity". They say they found a tunnel shaft and a "booby-trapped vehicle" on the hospital's grounds
    • The Al-Shifa hospital director says hundreds of patients are still at the site and patients are "screaming from thirst", as the facility runs out of oxygen and water
    • Mobile phone and internet services are down across Gaza because of a lack of fuel, Palestinian telecoms companies say
    • In Gaza’s south, leaflets were dropped by Israeli forces around Khan Younis, warning people in four towns to evacuate their homes and head to shelters
    • Israel says its security forces have killed three gunmen who opened fire at a checkpoint on a road leading into Jerusalem from the West Bank. There are also reports of an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Jenin tonight.

    Together with my colleague Frances Mao, I'll be bringing you the latest on what's happening on the ground. Stay with us.