Israel is trying to control the media narrativepublished at 11:12 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 2023

11:12 GMT 13 December 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International editor, reporting from Jerusalem

Israel continues to prevent independent journalistic access to Gaza – it will do so until there is a ceasefire and even then, if Israel remains in control of the territory, I am not sure we will be allowed in.

I don't think the Israeli forces are worried about whether we are safe in there or not – I think there are things they don't want us to see and that they want to master the media battlefield.

So they are fighting on all fronts and controlling the media is one of them.

If you look at Israeli TV, it is focused 24/7 on Gaza of course. But what you don’t see is Palestinian suffering.

You see troops, the home front, constant reminders of what happened on 7 October. You see the pain of the hostage families.

What you do not see are stories of individual Palestinians, nor the colossal scale of the damage going on in Gaza.

Let us give you another quick round-up of the key developments in the last few hours.

• Israel's military says it has carried out more than 250 strikes in Gaza over the past day
• Hamas officials say at least 50 people have been killed
• Nine Israeli soldiers, including a battalion commander, have been killed in one incident in Gaza on Tuesday, the IDF has confirmed
• A Palestinian woman told the BBC heavy rainfall overnight worsened the misery for her and her family as they took shelter in Deir al-Balah
• Elsewhere, Israel is looking increasingly diplomatically isolated after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza
• US President Joe Biden has he issued his sharpest criticism yet of Israel's leadership
• Biden linked the loss of international support with what he called Israel's indiscriminate bombing of Gaza

A number of people gathered outside the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem last night and this morning, to call for the release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Despite the rain from an overnight storm, relatives of the hostages and members of the public marched to demand the government works to secure their return to Israel.

An estimated 240 people were taken prisoner by Hamas on 7 October, 78 of which were released as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas during a six-day ceasefire last month.

Another 27 hostages were released as part of Hamas negotiations with other governments.

• You can read more about the hostages who have been released here.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Rushdi Abualouf
Reporting from Istanbul

Image source, Reuters

The heart of Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis has turned into a ghost town.

Israeli tanks have not yet reached the centre of the city, but the IDF controls the area with intense fire.

Musa Al-Masri, who owns a cigarette shop on the main Jalal Street, told the BBC: "I miraculously escaped death when I tried to reach my shop in the central town. A quadcopter drone fired intensely at me. I took cover behind the wall and escaped through a side road. I did not see the Israeli forces, but I felt death everywhere."

He adds that most buildings in the area are empty, including markets that were until recently packed with locals and those displaced from northern Gaza.

"Now it has become completely empty since the start of the ground operation a week ago," Musa says.

"Most people have fled to the city of Rafah and the western neighbourhoods of Khan Younis."

As we've been reporting, more and more people are taking shelter in Rafah.

Israel's military is focusing its operations on southern Gaza and in recent days have told Palestinians even Khan Younis - the largest urban area in the south - is not safe and they should move out.

As a result, tens of thousands of people have had to flee to the southern district of Rafah in recent days, the UN has said.

The IDF has produced a map splitting Gaza into small, numbered blocks and issues warnings to clusters of blocks at a time, telling people to evacuate them for their own safety.

• You can read more here about how life has changed in the Gaza Strip in the last two months

Image source, .

The Israeli army says it's carried out more than 250 strikes in Gaza over the past 24 hours.

Hamas officials say at least 50 people have been killed in the latest wave of air strikes.

The IDF says it thwarted an attempt by a "terrorist squad" in the Shejaiya region near Gaza City - an important Hamas stronghold - that was preparing to launch rockets towards Israeli territory, but an IDF air strike "eliminated the squad".

The IDF says its ground, air, and naval forces are continuing "precise strikes on terror targets and infrastructure across the Gaza Strip, with over 250 terror targets struck over the last day".

Israel can't ignore the Americanspublished at 09:43 Greenwich Mean Time 13 December 2023

09:43 GMT 13 December 2023

Jeremy Bowen
International editor, reporting from Jerusalem

Israel can’t ignore the Americans – it’s not just the military aid and financial help they supply, it’s diplomatic cover.

If the Americans abstained on a successful ceasefire vote in the UN Security Council and the Israelis continued fighting, they would be in a very, very difficult position internationally.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is taking a very hard line against American proposals to include the Palestinian Authority in the plans for what happens after the conflict in Gaza.

And in the Israeli press this morning there are a lot of commentators saying that he is basically grandstanding and playing to his own base because he is in deep political trouble as a result of criticisms that his government’s lapses in security and intelligence led to the Oct 7th attacks.

Yolande Knell
Reporting from Jerusalem

"The rain inundated our tent, leaving us soaked," Hana Mansi tells me.

She is a displaced mother from the north of Gaza who is now living under canvas in Deir al-Balah, in the centre of the strip.

A winter storm overnight has worsened the misery for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled from their homes. Many are in makeshift shelters or sleeping rough.

"When aid was handed out, we got just one blanket for our family of 12," Hana explains to me.

"Our children shivered all night. When our house was destroyed, all our warm clothes were left in the rubble."

The World Health Organization has reported a dramatic increase in the spread of diseases in Gaza - from meningitis, to impetigo, chicken pox and flu - due to overcrowded living conditions in shelters.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Some fresh comments to bring you from the Vatican City as Pope Francis renewed his call for an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza.

The Pope's remarks come hours after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution which also demands a ceasefire.

During his audience, Pope Francis added: "May this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians be over".

He also urged the immediate release of all Israeli hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Adnan El-Bursh
Reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza

Image source, Reuters

I visited an informal camp set up by displaced families in al-Attar area to the west of Rafah.

It is largely made of families who could not find space in UN schools or shelters. People here are visibly exhausted and angry.

Everyone complains of a lack of aid, food and even bathrooms.

Outside one tent sit a group of men. One of them is lying on a thin, shabby mattress.

"He’s injured but we can’t find him shelter," one man says. “We need a solution. Protect us,” he pleads.

As we walk around the dozens of tents, we see families cooking bread and other food over a wood fire.

Children play with whatever they can find.

I see two girls filling empty plastic bottles with sand. Two more girls lie on their stomach in the dirt, their heads resting on an old pillow.

I cannot describe the desperation people feel.

It has just gone 08:10 here in the UK and 10:10 in Israel and Gaza. If you are just joining us for our ongoing coverage, welcome, and let's bring you up to date with the key developments in the last few hours:

• Israel is looking increasingly isolated after the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza
• US President Joe Biden issued his sharpest criticism yet of Israel's leadership, linking the loss of international support with what he called the indiscriminate bombing in Gaza
• The Palestinian health ministry says a 13-year-old boy became the seventh victim to die following raids and drone attacks in the occupied West Bank area of Jenin on Tuesday
• Fierce battles between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants continued overnight in Gaza amid intense bombardment
• The main focus has again been in Khan Younis in the south of the territory
• The IDF has announced the deaths of two more soldiers - Col Itzhak Ben Basat and Sgt Eran Aloni - who were killed in northern Gaza fighting yesterday

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden has issued his sharpest criticism yet of Israel's leadership, linking the loss of international support with what he called the indiscriminate bombing in Gaza.

His comments were made to donors at a fundraising event on Tuesday.

"Israel's security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world," he told donors to his 2024 re-election campaign in Washington.

"But they're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place," he said.

• You can read more about Joe Biden's comments here

Image source, Reuters

The UN has described the last "barely functioning" hospital in northern Gaza as a "humanitarian disaster zone", external - with corridors overflowing with patients and doctors treating people on the floors.

Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City is severely short-staffed, with over 200 patients but only enough resources to support 40, said Dr Richard Peeperkorn, the World Health Organisation's representative in Gaza said in a briefing with reporters.

As they are unable to perform vascular surgeries, staff have taken to amputating people's limbs "as the last resort to save lives", he said.

In the whole of Gaza there are now only 11 functioning hospitals - down from 36, the World Health Organization says.

Image source, Getty Images

Moving away from the Middle East to bring you some news from the governing body of cricket in Australia which has told one of its top batters not to show an on-field message in support of Palestinians at an upcoming Test match with Pakistan.

Usman Khawaja had planned to wear shoes bearing the words "all lives are equal" and "freedom is a human right".

Australia's cricket authority has said Khawaja must abide by international rules prohibiting "personal messages".

Captain Pat Cummins and Australia's sport minister have supported Khawaja, but he will no longer wear the shoes.

• You can read more here about the Usman Khawaja story

The number of people killed in the West Bank area of Jenin has risen to seven after Palestinian officials confirmed a 13-year-old boy died from his injuries.

Ahmed Mohammad Sammar was taken for treatment at the Khalil Suleiman Hospital after Israeli forces reportedly raided the Jenin refugee camp and carried out drone strikes yesterday.

Image source, Reuters

The Human Rights Watch has condemned Tuesday's attack on a Norwegian ship by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The attack caused a fire on board but there were no casualties.

The Houthis have vowed to block ships heading towards Israel until Israel stops its offensive on Gaza, in what they say is a show of support for the Palestinians.

Intentionally or recklessly targeting civilian vessels is a war crime, external, HRW said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The Houthis are claiming that they’re carrying out attacks on behalf of Palestinians, when the reality is that they’re attacking, arbitrarily detaining, and endangering civilians on ship crews who have zero connection to any known military target,” it said.

In November, the Houthis seized the Galaxy Leader, a British-owned and Japanese-operated vehicles carrier registered in the Bahamas.

Image source, Getty Images

A group of NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, have written to UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron calling for an "immediate halt" in UK arms transfers to Israel.

Failure to do so risks the UK government "breaching its own laws and international obligations and being complicit in grave abuses", read the letter dated 8 December and made public on Tuesday, external.

There is a "clear risk" that arms and military equipment supplied to Israel might be used to "commit serious violations of international law, including attacks that may amount to war crimes", the groups said.

"Accordingly, the UK Government should immediately suspend both extant licenses for military equipment and technology and the issuing of new licenses," the letter added.

The British government has licensed at least £472m ($593m) worth of military exports to Israel since May 2015, according to the UK Group, Campaign Against Arms Trade.

It's 07:30 in Gaza and Israel (05:30 GMT) and fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas appears to have continued overnight.

The latest we are hearing is that eight Israeli soldiers, including a battalion commander, were killed in fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Lt Col Tomer Grinberg, a battallion commander, was among those killed, IDF said.

At least 114 Israeli soldiers have died so far since Israel began its ground offensive in Gaza on 20 October, Reuters has reported, quoting IDF.

Patrick Jackson
Live page editor

Image source, Reuters

It’s just gone 03:20 in Israel and Gaza, and 01:20 here in London. On a live video feed from Gaza we can hear the occasional boom of what seem to be explosions in the distance.

A few hours ago, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The vote is non-binding but analysts say it acts as a powerful measure of international opinion.

Though the US was one of just ten countries to vote against the resolution, President Joe Biden said earlier that Israel was losing international support because of its "indiscriminate bombing" of Palestinians.

The result of the vote was welcomed by the Palestinian presidency while Hamas said it showed the prevailing international will was in favor of stopping the aggression against the Palestinian people.

Israel said a ceasefire would only serve to "prolong Hamas's reign of terror".

The prime ministers of Australia, New Zealand and Canada have voiced their support for a "sustainable ceasefire" in Gaza.

"We want to see this pause resumed and support urgent international efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire," the three said in a joint statement, external.

"This cannot be one-sided. Hamas must release all hostages, stop using Palestinian civilians as human shields, and lay down its arms. There is no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza."

After dire warnings from aid workers about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for an end to the current fighting late on Tuesday - Australia, Canada and New Zealand were included in the 153 member states who all voted in favour.

The US was one of ten nations who voted against the proposal, while 23 countries, including the UK abstained.