Image source, Family handout

The Israeli military says it has recovered the bodies of two hostages who were being held in Gaza.

They have been identified as 27-year-old Eden Zecharya – who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival - and 36-year-old Ziv Dado, who had already been declared dead by the Israeli military.

In a statement, the IDF said their families had been informed.

The statement continued: "The IDF sends the families its heartfelt condolences and will continue to support them.

"Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home. We are working together with security agencies, and with all intelligence and operational means in order to return all of the hostages home."

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, here is a recap of what's been happening today:

• Israel is continuing its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, with much of the focus on the southern city of Khan Younis. Air strikes are also being conducted further south, in Rafah near the Egyptian border. Hamas officials say 22 people were killed there
• The World Health Organization says less than a third of Gaza's hospitals remain functional, and those only partially so. The WHO's Richard Peeperkorn says "we cannot afford to lose any [more] health care facilities or hospitals"
• The Palestinian health ministry in the occupied West Bank says six people were killed in Jenin, including five in a drone strike. The ministry says a 13-year-old boy was among the Palestinians killed
• Aid groups are warning that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains desperate as a tiny amount of the assistance needed is getting in
• The UN General Assembly is due to vote later on a non-binding resolution demanding "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza

Satellite image reveals Rafah tent sitepublished at 17:19 Greenwich Mean Time 12 December 2023

17:19 GMT 12 December 2023

Image source, Planet Labs

Satellite images show a growing camp for displaced people in Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

An area called Al-Attar appeared to be largely clear on 3 December, but images from a week later analysed by BBC Verify show numerous new structures have popped up there.

There’s a large enclosed area now full of tents. The courtyard of two schools and a UN hospital premises also appear to be filling up with people seeking shelter there.

Image source, Getty Images

Raghad Muhammad Fadl, 12, says that as bombs fell above her home in northern Gaza, she moved to Khan Younis in the south because she was told the area was safe.

“We departed with tears in our eyes and nothing else,” she tells BBC Arabic.

Arriving in Khan Younis, instead of going to school, she began working so she could buy food.

Then the bombing returned and she was forced to move again – this time to Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

Through tears she says: “Life is tragic. The bombing and the sounds we hear at night make us unable to sleep. I am a child who leads a miserable life. How can I describe it? I will never be able to forget this war.”

Image source, Palestine Red Crescent Society

The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains desperate, aid groups are warning, as a tiny amount of the assistance needed in the territory is getting in.

In recent days, about 20% of the aid required has entered the territory, much of which cannot be distributed because of the scale of Israeli bombardments, Melanie Ward, from Medical Aid for Palestinians, told the BBC.

She described the aid getting in as a “drop in the ocean”, and said it is the “worst humanitarian catastrophe that any of us who work in Gaza have ever known”.

The only border crossing currently open is at Rafah, on the Egyptian border, and the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, said “limited aid distributions” are taking place there.

Almost no aid has been able to get to the north of Gaza, due to the intensity of the fighting as well as restrictions of movement on the main road.

Aid agencies say distributions increased into Gaza during the week-long ceasefire that ended on 1 December, which also saw the release of some hostages, but the situation has only grown worse since then.

Eman Eriqat
BBC Arabic, reporting from Ramallah in the West Bank

Image source, EPA

Alarm sirens heralded an Israeli army attack early this morning. The Israeli army says it was targeting a group of militants and a number of "wanted Palestinians" .

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sees Jenin as a centre for Palestinian armed factions, including militants from the Islamic Jihad movement.

Medical staff I spoke to by phone in Jenin say they could not reach the injured for hours, as the government hospital in the city was under siege, surrounded by Israeli troops, while tear gas bombs were thrown in its courtyard.

The doctors and nurses I spoke to sounded exhausted, and some had breathing difficulties that they said was due to tear gas.

A number of journalists were injured as they covered developments, hospital staff said.

The Palestinian health ministry in the West Bank says six people were killed in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, including five in a drone strike.

The ministry said a 13-year-old boy was among the Palestinians killed.

This updates an earlier death toll of four.

The Palestinian health ministry is separate from the Hamas-run ministry that operates in Gaza.

Earlier we reported that at least four people were killed in what witnesses said was a drone strike in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has given an update of its operations there, saying it launched a "counter-terrorism" operation in the city and in Jenin refugee camp.

In a post on X, external, formerly Twitter, it said its forces had launched drone strikes and confiscated weapons, ammunition and explosive charges - it added that a number of attackers were killed and "dozens" were arrested.

Lucy Williamson
Reporting from Jenin in the West Bank

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The road outside the hospital at the entrance to Jenin Camp, in the occupied West Bank, is littered with stones.

All day Israeli armoured vehicles have been moving around these shuttered streets, followed at a distance by a group of young men and boys.

The bodies of three of the four men killed in a drone strike in Jenin's Old City this morning were brought here. Their families are still waiting for the military operation to finish before they can bury them.

Inside the hospital, its director Dr Wissam Bakr tells me that Israeli raids and incursions had increased since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October.

"Every day there is a raid in the city, or the camp, or a village or town near Jenin," he says.

"The persistence of the invasions and the killing of young people will make people in Jenin more and more angry, because every day we lose one of our friends."

"This will not bring peace to Israel," he says. "This will bring more and more resistance."

Loud explosions still can still be heard from time to time, and thick smoke can be seen spiralling up from the camp and the hillside overlooking it.

The sound of drones over the city is constant, joined at regular intervals by the Muslim call to prayer, sweeping up and over the loud monotone buzz.

This operation began some 12 hours ago and shows no sign of slowing.

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

The US, Israel’s main ally, is again saying that more needs to be done to protect the population of Gaza as the Israeli military offensive against Hamas intensifies, with mounting civilian casualties and a humanitarian crisis that is quickly deteriorating.

Since a temporary ceasefire expired earlier this month, the warnings from senior American officials have become louder. Days ago, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was still a “gap” between what the Israeli authorities were saying and what they were doing.

That came after strong words from the defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, who said the killings of civilians in large numbers risked turning Israel’s tactical victory in Gaza into a strategic defeat which could drive the population into the arms of Hamas.

As international pressure grows, Israel says it has taken steps to warn residents in some areas they should leave and has announced efforts to increase the amount of humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza. Aid agencies, however, say it is still not enough, and warn that those who have not been killed by bombs may not survive hunger and diseases.

David Gritten
BBC News

Image source, Anadolu

"When he asks me about his family I can't answer. Instead, I take a deep breath and try to avoid the question in a childlike way by changing the subject."

Moein Abu Rezk is the only surviving relative of his four-year-old nephew, Omar, who is in a critical condition at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

Omar had to have his left hand amputated and was left with a large, open wound on his right leg, smaller wounds on his chest and face, and a dislocated jaw following an Israeli air strike that Moein says killed 35 members of his family, including his mother, father and grandmother.

So far, Moein has decided to not tell Omar about their deaths, in case it causes his condition to deteriorate before he can be medically evacuated from Gaza via Egypt, hopefully as part of an initiative by the United Arab Emirates government and the Emirates Red Crescent.

"He knows that he hasn't seen any of them, and yet he feels the need to ask: 'Where is mum? Where is grandma? Where did they go?'"

Read more of Omar's story here

Earlier we reported on comments by a World Health Organization representative, who said there are just 11 partially functioning hospitals in Gaza – down from 36 at the start of the war.

Richard Peeperkorn also stressed the need to expand bed capacity in Gaza, and to “restore the functionality of the system”.

He added that he was concerned about the present situation, and that he hoped that “incredibly vulnerable health infrastructure will be left intact and that we can actually expand on that”.

Image source, Reuters

As Israel and Hamas continue to battle in the Gaza Strip, more than two months after the 7 October attacks. Here are some of the main developments from today:

• Israel is continuing its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, with much of the focus on the southern city of Khan Younis. Air strikes are also being conducted further south, in Rafah near the Egyptian border. Hamas officials say 22 people were killed there

• The World Health Organization says less than a third of Gaza's hospitals remain functional, and those only partially so. The WHO's Richard Peeperkorn said "we cannot afford to lose any [more] health care facilities or hospitals"

• People in Gaza are enduring "hell on earth", the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees has said after visiting the enclave. The UN says aid distribution in much of the territory has stopped

• Meanwhile, at least four people have been killed in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, with witnesses saying they were hit in a drone strike. Israel’s army is also operating inside Jenin Camp, with residents sharing videos of heavily-armed soldiers walking through the streets

• The US has said it is pressing Israel to put "a premium on civilian life". A State Department official said more can be done to ensure civilians reach safety, and that Israel can achieve a “strategic victory” if it protects civilians and works towards long-term peace

Image source, Reuters

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, has said civilians in the Gaza Strip are enduring "hell on earth", after visiting the enclave.

The UN says aid distribution in much of the territory has largely stopped due to the intensity of fighting and restrictions on movement along main roads.

Posting on X, Lazzarini says: "Back in Gaza, endless deepening tragedy.

"People are everywhere, live in the street, need everything.

"They plead for safety and for an end to this hell on earth."

He says his agency is facing "an impossible situation".

On Saturday, a senior UN aid official warned that half of Gaza's population was starving and only a fraction of the supplies needed have been able to enter the Strip.

Image source, Reuters

Islam Harb is getting ready to bury his twin daughters and son, after they were killed in an air strike on Rafah, in the far south of Gaza.

Whilst cradling his son Omar's body, he told Reuters that their home was hit by rockets overnight along with four other houses.

He said: “These children are the beloved of God.

"My message? We’re used to being let down. Thanks to God. We’re used to being let down. Thanks to God.”

Hamas health officials in Gaza said 22 people, including children, were killed in an Israeli air strike in the city overnight.

A World Health Organization official says less than a third of Gaza's hospitals remain functional, and those only partially so, Reuters news agency reports.

According to Reuters, the WHO's Richard Peeperkorn told a UN press briefing: "In just 66 days the health system has gone from 36 functional hospitals to 11 partially functional hospitals - one in the north and 10 in the south.

"We cannot afford to lose any health care facilities or hospitals.

"We hope, we plea that this will not happen."

The Hamas run Palestinian Health Ministry has said the Israeli military has entered a hospital in northern Gaza.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said: "Israeli occupation forces are storming Kamal Adwan hospital after besieging and bombing it for days."

The IDF has not released a comment on the issue. Northern Gaza has been the focus of the Israeli offensive.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said the hospital has 65 patients, including 12 children, and two mothers were killed when the maternity unit was reportedly struck on Monday.

The Israeli military says a total of 105 of its soldiers have been killed since the start the ground operation in Gaza - with 20 killed accidentally, according to Israeli media., external

An IDF spokesperson added that of the 20, 13 were killed in friendly fire after being mistaken for the opposition.

The remaining seven died in incidents involving weaponry, shrapnel, machinery, trampling and "firing irregularities".

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor

Image source, REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

I don’t think Israeli forces have been able to progress as far as they would like to.

It is difficult to be accurate from this side of the border, as we are unable to report from inside Gaza, but when our team was driving to Tel Aviv yesterday, we witnessed real fear and terror on the motorway when a rocket strike came in from Gaza.

The sirens were sounded, the Iron Dome anti-missile system was activated, people swerved to a halt, leapt out of their cars and ran for cover. Traffic accidents occurred as cars ran into each other in the chaos.

On the Gaza side, Israeli forces are fighting heavily in Khan Younis and still fighting in the north near Gaza city. Israel has not yet controlled those areas. So while Israel claims to be killing many Hamas fighters, they are still popping out of their tunnels and targeting Israeli soldiers, and the names of the reservists who have been killed are being published.

So how do we measure whether Hamas is beaten?

Hamas still have a chain of command and Israel cannot claim that the key Hamas leaders have been captured or killed – none of the three names on their must-get list have been taken.

And while Hamas can fire rockets into Israel - causing the kind of real panic I witnessed yesterday - well, I think they are still going and that’s something that, by this point, Israel was hoping would not be the case.

Rushdi Abualouf
Reporting from Istanbul

A senior Palestinian official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations has said that Qatari and Egyptian mediators are exploring "contacts and initiatives... that do not rise to the level of negotiations" but test the water.

Qatar hosted talks leading to a week-long pause in fighting at the end of November. But negotiations had broken down, with Israel bringing home its negotiation team.

A senior Hamas official has told the BBC there is no negotiation at this time and they will not release hostages before a "cessation of aggression" by Israel.

"Contacts with mediators are continuing, but there is no negotiation at this time, but we informed all parties that Hamas is ready to negotiate on the basis of a comprehensive agreement that guarantees the immediate stop of aggression," the official continued.

"We are certain that Israel will be forced to accept a ceasefire because it cannot liberate the prisoners by force."

On Sunday, Qatar's prime minister said they were "not going to give up", but were "not seeing the same willingness from both parties".

Image source, Reuters