Image source, AFP

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has said that France believes an "immediate truce is necessary" in the Israel-Gaza war.

She added that this will allow "progress to be made towards a ceasefire to obtain the release of the hostages".

Colonna also added that this will allow more humanitarian aid to get through to those suffering in Gaza and move towards the beginning of a "political solution".

"We must now think about what will follow the day after and the return of a political horizon to deal with this conflict."

Colonna has also spoke about the recent attacks against shipping vessels in the Red Sea by Houthui rebels in Yemen, saying they "cannot go unanswered" and that they are "studying several solutions".

Frank Gardner
BBC News, Security Correspondent in Jerusalem

It's too early to say that negotiations are under way but there are discussions about talks.

Israeli media is reporting that David Barnea, the head of Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, has had a meeting with the Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, to discuss a possible future hostage deal.

Hamas, which is holding nearly 129 hostages in Gaza, has said there can be no negotiations about hostages until, as they put it, the Israeli aggression against their people stops.

The dilemma for the Israeli government is that they don't want to do a ceasefire while they think Hamas is still capable of attacking them, not just with rockets but at some time in the future with a cross border raid, in the way that they did on 7 October.

But most of the world is building up a momentum to try and force Israel to stop or at least curtail its military operations, which are killing extraordinary high numbers of Palestinian civilians.

They may be killing Hamas fighters, but it's absolutely devastating Gaza everyday.

I think that prompted David Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, to write this combined piece with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock where they call for a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a sustainable peace. That's a hardening up of the diplomatic language, putting further pressure on the Israeli government to wrap up its military campaign in Gaza.

A British politician with relatives in Gaza has told the BBC that there's a sniper shooting at people in the church compound where her family are sheltering in Gaza City.

Layla Moran, who is a Liberal Democrat MP, said her Christian Palestinian relatives had sought refuge at the Catholic Holy Family Church after their home was bombed in the first week of the Israel-Gaza war.

Moran said the situation for her family had been "deteriorating all week" but that things had escalated again "in the last 48 hours".

"Now they are without water, without food and there is a sniper inside the compound," she added.

Moran said her family and hundreds of other people sheltering at the church complex are trapped by the threat of shooting, "As they try and leave their rooms... there is firing at them."

Moran added that the timing of the attacks, just a week away from Christmas Eve, were adding to the distress; "This is an incredibly important time for Christians and yet they're doing this to Christians in a church."

She told the BBC she doesn't know why this was happening and said; "Either the rules of engagement are being ignored or there is a plan to clear the whole of Gaza."

"My family are not justifiable collateral damage in this war," Moran added.

You can read more about Moran's family's situation here.

Image source, .

France’s foreign ministry has demanded Israel explain an air strike that killed a French foreign ministry staff member along with numerous other civilians.

In a post on X, external it said the employee died as a result of his injuries during the strike in Rafah.

He had been at the home of one of his colleagues at the French Consulate General, alongside two other colleagues and numerous members of their families.

On Wednesday the house was hit by an Israeli bomb, according to the ministry, which fatally injured the agent and killed many of the others.

“France condemns this strike on a residential building that killed numerous other civilians,” the foreign ministry said.

“We urge the Israeli authorities to shed light on the circumstances of this bombing as quickly as possible.”

Image source, AFP

The besieged Al-Shifa hospital in the north of Gaza has been described as a "bloodbath" by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The statement issued by the United Nations health body added that the hospital was "in need of resuscitation".

The WHO said they were able to deliver some medical supplies to Al-Shifa on Saturday but said there remains "a severe shortage" of water and food.

Resources at Al-Shifa have been further limited by the huge numbers of Gazans seeking refuge at the hospital the WHO said.

Despite already operating at capacity, more patients have been arriving at Al-Shifa, the WHO added, "patients with trauma injuries were being sutured on the floor... (and) no pain management is available".

Al-Shifa is the largest medical complex in Gaza and it found itself on the frontline of the Israel-Gaza war after Israeli forces insisted that Hamas were running a network of underground tunnels beneath the hospital.

Image source, Reuters

The Palestinian news agency Wafa says that 35 people have been killed in strikes on several houses in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza.

Palestinian health officials in the territory have not been able to confirm the number of deaths but the Israeli military said on Saturday that it had bombed a building in Jabalia from the air.

They said this comes after its forces came under fire and Hamas militants were seen on the roof.

Wafa explained local sources reported that civil defense and ambulance crews recovered 24 dead bodies and at least 90 were wounded.

Many civilians, according to Palestinian media, remain trapped under the rubble there.

Wafa added that a further 11 people were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli strike that targeted a family house in Jabalia.

Image source, AFP

France has joined the calls for an "immediate and durable" ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war.

The country's Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna said Paris is "deeply concerned" over the situation in the territory, the AFP news agency reports.

"Too many civilians are being killed," Colonna added, after she met her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Tel Aviv.

She stressed that the victims of Hamas's 7 October attack should also not be forgotten.

Image source, PA

UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has teamed up with Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to call for a ceasefire of the Israel-Gaza war - but only if the end to the fighting would be "sustainable".

Cameron and Baerbock jointly wrote an article for the UK's Sunday Times, saying: "Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations."

On Tuesday, the UK and Germany abstained over a United Nations resolution, backed by 153 countries, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

You can read more about Lord Cameron's letter here.

Despite fresh calls from the UK and Germany for a ceasefire, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will continue the war "until absolute victory".

In a press conference on Saturday evening he spoke about Israel remaining "relentless" in its military and diplomatic efforts "to bring back all the hostages home safely."

He added that the military pressure is necessary to achieve victory, saying that this strategy had brought back 100 hostages.

There have been calls for further negotiations so that the Israeli government can secure a possible hostage deal, with reports that Egypt and Qatar are involved.

Netanyahu said: "The assumption of entering negotiations is based on this (military) pressure without this pressure we have nothing."

Gem O'Reilly
Live reporter

It's just coming up to 10:00 in Gaza and Israel, and 08:00 in London and we are back to bring you the latest developments in the Israel-Gaza war.

Yesterday saw the fallout from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirming that three hostages were mistakenly killed, sparking protests in Tel Aviv and a rally organised by families of Israelis still held in Gaza.

Today, we can expect more calls for the Israeli government to increase efforts to secure a possible hostage deal.

Foreign ministers of Britain and Germany have also joined the conversation, saying there's an "urgent need for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza."

Stay with us for all the latest here.

That's where we're going to leave our live coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict for the day, thank you for joining us.

We'll resume our live page in the morning, but in the meantime you can keep up to date with the latest developments on the BBC News website and on the BBC News Channel.

If you want to read more about some of the stories we've covered, please take a look below:

• Relatives of the UK MP Layla Moran, who are sheltering in a Catholic Church in Gaza City say six people have been killed in the building by apparent sniper fire
• You can read more about the three hostages mistakenly killed by the IDF yesterday here
• The funeral for Al Jazeera journalist Samer Abudaqa has taken place after he was killed yesterday
• And for a broad look at stories from the war, you can read more here

Growing pressure on Israeli PM to reach new deal with Hamaspublished at 19:12 Greenwich Mean Time 16 December 2023

19:12 GMT 16 December 2023

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Tel Aviv

Image source, Getty Images

Crowds have gathered in Tel Aviv in what is now known as Hostages Square, one of the symbols of the families’ agonising wait for those who are still captive in Gaza.

Relatives are extremely angry, reacting to the deaths of three Israeli hostages who were shot dead by mistake by Israeli soldiers.

The relatives always knew that the resumption of hostilities meant that the lives of the hostages were at risk. But details of how the captives were killed - as they left a building carrying a makeshift white flag - have shocked people here, and across the country.

There is growing pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try to reach a new deal with Hamas for the release of at least some of the hostages. More than 120 people remain in captivity.

“We don’t need dead bodies. We need people alive,” Naama Weinberg, whose cousin Itai remains in captivity, told me, as she raised concerns about the safety of the remaining hostages.

The families say the only way to bring back their loved ones is by reaching a new deal. Until now, the authorities have said that could only be achieved by putting military pressure on Hamas.

Image source, Reuters

We're pausing our live coverage shortly, here are the latest developments in the Israel-Gaza war:

• Three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in Gaza on Friday were shot after they were mis-identified as "terrorists", the IDF has said
• The hostages emerged from a building with a white cloth on a stick, and an Israeli soldier felt threatened and opened fire, an IDF official said
• Israeli families of hostages held in Gaza have demanded an immediate return to negotiations with Hamas, during a rally in Tel Aviv

• The Israeli PM's senior adviser, Mark Regev, said he wouldn't go into detail on reports of hostage negotiations resuming with Hamas
• Meanwhile, reports say dozens of people have been killed in Israeli air strikes in Jabalia in northern Gaza, with many civilians said to be trapped under rubble
• Attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have prompted four of the world's largest shipping companies to suspend travel through the Red Sea

• The IDF said it struck a number of military buildings and "terrorist infrastructures" belonging to Hezbollah - the powerful Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon - after attacks launched from Lebanon towards Israel

Mourners gathered in southern Gaza today for the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist and cameraman, Samer Abudaqa, who was killed on Friday in an Israeli strike.

Abudaqa was reporting from a school in Khan Younis, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip where Israel has been intensifying its bombardment, when the school was hit, Al Jazeera said.

The BBC's Rushdi Abualouf, who has been covering the war from within Gaza and has now left the enclave, knew Samer Abuqaqa well, and paid tribute to his friend, which you can watch above.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are engaging in Oman-mediated talks with "international parties" over its ongoing "operations" in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, a spokesman for the group says.

Spokesperson Mohamed Abdel-Salam says the group will continue to target Israeli vessels or ships bound for Israel until the "aggression and siege" on Gaza end.

Four of the world's five-largest shipping companies have now suspended their vessels from travelling through the Red Sea, because of missile attacks from Houthi rebels.

The Houthis have targeted foreign ships in the area since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. They have declared support for Hamas and have said they were targeting ships travelling to Israel.

Image source, EPA

Sharone Lifschitz is the British-Israeli daughter of Yocheved, 85 - one of the first hostages released from Hamas captivity in Gaza in late October.

Her father, Oded, 83 is still missing and believed to be held hostage in the Strip.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme, Sharone said mistakes happen in war but Israel has to use diplomatic efforts to free those still in captivity.

"I know that people are petrified and people are scared," she said, adding that when her mother was still a captive, what frightened her most were attempts by the Israeli military to free them.

"I know that all these attempts are incredibly dangerous," Sharone said, but Israel must "work towards the exchange of all hostages".

"Israel has a moral duty towards the citizens it abandoned on 7 October. As the time passes that moral duty is becoming more and more urgent."

We're turning our attention to the occupied West Bank now, where there's been a surge in violence since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 7 October.

According to the Palestinian health ministry, two Palestinian men have been killed by Israeli gunfire in two separate incidents in the territory today.

A 20-year-old died of his injuries after being shot by Israeli forces in the town of Beit Ummar, the ministry said, while a 25-year-old man was killed in the city of Tulkarm.

Image source, .

Image source, Portfolio Magazine

Inbar Haiman, a 27-year-old Israeli hostage who was abducted on 7 October, has been killed by Hamas, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum says.

Inbar, who was a street artist and art student, was kidnapped from the Supernova music festival in Israel and taken into Gaza.

She was seen days later in a hostage video circulated on social media, with blood on her face.

Inbar's friends and family had been campaigning for her release, and using the hashtag #FreePink, a reference to her street artist name.

Read more about Inbar's story here.

Image source, PA Media

A British MP says her relatives are among hundreds of civilians trapped in a Catholic Church in Gaza City as Israeli forces operate nearby.

Liberal Democrat MP, Layla Moran, says her family are "days away from dying" without access to water or food, after seeking refuge there when their home was bombed in the first week of war.

The BBC has contacted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

Her relatives and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem say a mother and daughter were killed inside the Holy Family Church complex on Saturday by what appeared to be sniper fire.

Earlier this week, the family heard shots being fired and saw bullet casings in the church compound. They say two men were killed on Tuesday while they were coming and going from the building - a bin collector and a janitor.

Read more here.

Israel's hostage families demand action from governmentpublished at 17:03 Greenwich Mean Time 16 December 2023

17:03 GMT 16 December 2023

Frank Gardner
Security Correspondent, reporting from Jerusalem

Israel’s hostage families are losing patience.

Today, they rallied in Tel Aviv to demand more action from their government to get their 129 loved ones out of captivity in Gaza.

The revelation that Israeli soldiers shot dead three of the hostages, mistaking them for Hamas fighters, despite their carrying a white flag has only added to their belief that the current policy isn’t working.

The Israeli government says only military pressure will force Hamas to give up their captives. Yet it was weeks of careful diplomatic mediation by Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, that saw more than a hundred hostages released earlier in the conflict.

Relatives of those still held want those negotiations to be resumed. In an emotional press conference today, they said time was running out to save those left, they complained their government wasn’t listening to their demands and one said it was easier to get a meeting with President Biden than it was with their own cabinet ministers.