Brandon Livesay
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

We’re taking a break from our live coverage of the war in Gaza for a few hours.

This page will be relaunched overnight if there are any major developments, otherwise we’ll be back in the morning, UK time.

You can stay up to date with the latest developments from the Israel-Gaza war here.

We also have a vivid and shocking account from BBC Arabic cameraman Jehad El-Mashhrawi on how his family fled their home in northern Gaza.

You can read their story here, but a warning - this article contains graphic descriptions which may be distressing.

We'll be pausing our coverage shortly, but before we go, let's take a look at some of the main developments from today:

Negotiations continued in Cairo, Egypt, to broker a new truce and secure the release of more Israeli hostages.

Hamas said Palestinian groups reject the prospect of more hostages being released until Israel agrees to end the war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war in Gaza will not stop until Israel achieves all of its goals.

Elsewhere, the World Health Organization said northern Gaza has been left without a functional hospital due to lack of fuel, staff and supplies.

And the World Food Programme has warned Gaza faces a famine in the next six months if the conflict continues.

We're also still waiting for the UN Security Council to vote on a draft resolution to pause hostilities in Gaza. The vote has been delayed multiple times this week as diplomats try to agree on language that will not end with the US vetoing the resolution.

It's not yet known if there'll be a vote on the text tonight, but we will bring you the latest updates if there's movement at the UN headquarters in New York.

Image source, EPA

The US is "actively working" on a UN draft resolution to pause fighting in Gaza, US National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby says.

The UN Security Council could potentially hold a vote on the resolution in the next few hours. It has already been delayed multiple times this week.

Diplomatic negotiations are taking place over the wording of the resolution to avoid another US veto, with the main sticking point reported to be around the inspection and monitoring of humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

"We're still actively working with our UN partners about the resolution and on the language itself," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby just told reporters in the daily White House press briefing.

Image source, Reuters

Ivanka Trump, daughter of former US President Donald Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner have visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza in Israel.

The area, just 3km from the Gaza Strip, was among the communities hit hardest by Hamas's 7 October attack.

Trump and Kushner looked around the burnt-out houses and met with residents and and Israeli military officers.

Image source, EPA

World Food Programme spokesperson Shaza Moghraby says she never seen anything like the situation in Gaza before.

"The levels of acute food insecurity are unprecedented in terms of seriousness, speed of deterioration and complexity. Gaza risks famine," Moghraby says.

The population of Gaza falling into the catastrophe classification of food security is more than four times higher than the number of people facing similar conditions around the world (577,000 compared to 129,000 respectively), according to Moghraby.

"We cannot wait for famine to be declared before we act," Moghraby says, adding "we need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the opening of all border crossings and the resumption of commercial cargo to provide relief, put an end to the suffering and avert the very serious threat of famine."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war in Gaza will not stop until Israel achieves all of its goals.

"The choice I propose to Hamas is very simple: surrender or die," he says.

"They do not have – and will not have – any other choice. And after we eliminate Hamas, I will use all my power to ensure that Gaza never again threatens Israel – neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan."

The above comments were translated, with Netanyahu giving the statement in Hebrew.

Hamastan and Fatahstan references two Palestinian groups: Hamas, the Palestinian group which has run Gaza since 2007 - and the political party Fatah, which is the ruling party of the West Bank and a bitter rival of Hamas.

The plan for what becomes of the enclave and its 2 million inhabitants after the war ends remains unknown.

The World Food Programme (WFP) says that more than one in four households in Gaza faces extreme hunger and that there is a risk of famine unless access to food, clean water, health and sanitation services are restored.

The latest analysis from Gaza, which includes data from the WFP and other UN agencies, states that the territory's entire population are in crisis levels of food insecurity, or worse.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) - which undertook the report - says there's a risk of famine within the next six months if this conflict persists.

The WFP goes on to say the recent temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas showed that aid could be provided when conditions allowed.

Image source, Reuters

It's day 76 of the war. Here are the key developments from the past 24 hours:

Hamas says border crossing chief killed: An Israeli strike killed the head of the Palestinian side of the newly-reopened Kerem Shalom border crossing on Thursday, Hamas authorities in Gaza say.

Crossing director Bassem Ghaben and three others were killed in an Israeli air strike, according to the Hamas-controlled crossing authority and the health ministry. Israeli officials did not immediately comment.

Gaza death toll rises: The Hamas media office said on Wednesday that at least 20,000 people, including 8,000 children and 6,200 women, have been reported killed since Israel began bombing the territory.

North Gaza hospitals not functioning: There are no longer any functional hospitals in northern Gaza, the World Health Organization says, describing "unbearable" scenes of largely abandoned patients begging for food and water.

Of Gaza's original 36 hospitals, only nine are now partially functional, all of them in the south.

UN Security Council set to vote: It is thought there will be another go at passing a resolution calling for a halt in fighting after previous efforts to win Washington's backing fell short.

But the US is seeking more changes in high-level talks. The key sticking point is over the text’s proposal to have a UN mechanism to monitor aid into Gaza – something the Arab group of nations insists must be part of any meaningful resolution.

Washington fears that could take away Israel’s control of the screening process. They’ve asked for this latest delay so they can discuss with Egypt how a monitoring mechanism can work for all parties.

Image source, Getty Images

Jordan's King Abdullah has said that continued Israeli action in the Gaza Strip will have disastrous repercussions in the wider region, according to the country's state news agency.

Speaking to French President Emmanuel Macron, the King added that the world must push for an immediate ceasefire.

Abdullah also warned of settler violence in the West Bank, where extremist settlers have repeatedly attacked Palestinians and their homes.

He also spoke about against the harassment of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, all of which could further inflame tensions.

We’ve been hearing from some displaced Palestinians from northern Gaza, who have been telling the BBC World Service's Gaza Today about conditions where they are.

There is huge shortage of basic commodities like soap, one of the men says, preventing people from being able to wash properly.

“All people are suffering,” he says, because of “a shortage of water and soap in schools (where they are given shelter)”. He fears that the poor sanitation could lead to the spread of disease.

“We pray to Allah the Almighty to protect people against viruses in order not to infect each other afterwards.”

A young child says their shelter is “very dirty”. He hopes they can be provided with clean soap and detergents to clean their surroundings, and called on the “free Arab countries to help reach an immediate ceasefire.”

A mother says that she and her daughter are suffering from scabies because of the poor hygiene in their shelter. She has sought medical help for her daughter, but her condition has deteriorated because of the “filth which surrounds the place”, says the mother.

The daughter adds that she has “boils on my head and because of them, I cannot sleep at night.”

Serious setback for Israel's hostage strategypublished at 15:47 Greenwich Mean Time 21 December 2023

15:47 GMT 21 December 2023

Frank Gardner
BBC News, Security Correspondent

The negotiations between Hamas and Israel have suffered a very serious setback. Hamas has made it clear it will not agree to a partial release of hostages for a partial ceasefire.

This puts the Israeli government in a very difficult position. They've said they think the best way to get the release of their hostages is through military pressure on Hamas and also by staging rescue operations.

But that hasn’t really happened. Only one hostage has actually been rescued - Ori Megidish.

The Israeli government is under huge pressure from the relatives of the some 130 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, with some telling them the strategy of force is not working.

Hamas is putting pressure on Israel to stop the war altogether, but without any guarantee that the group is going to stop its armed actions.

So the Israeli government is extremely reluctant to stop fighting until it feels it has completely degraded Hamas capability - and it hasn’t done that yet.

This will be a huge disappointment for the people of Gaza who are desperate for this war to stop.

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from New York

Image source, Getty Images

The text of the Security Council humanitarian draft resolution on Gaza has not changed overnight.

In past days, the resolution was modified to accommodate the United States’ position – including with toned down language calling for a "suspension" rather than a "cessation" of hostilities.

But Washington is seeking more changes in high-level talks. The key sticking point is over the text’s proposal to have a UN mechanism to monitor aid into Gaza – something the Arab group of nations insists must be part of any meaningful resolution.

Washington fears that could take away Israel’s control of the screening process. They’ve asked for this latest delay so they can discuss with Egypt how a monitoring mechanism can work for all parties.

Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador to the UN, just spoke to reporters at the Security Council stakeout on his way into the chamber for an unrelated meeting on Syria.

He said he honestly couldn’t say how the US would vote because they don’t know what the final draft will look like. He said they are still working and hoping to be able to support it.

“Stay tuned,” he added.

For now, a vote is scheduled to take place later this afternoon after that Syria council meeting.

As we've been reporting on these pages all week, members of the United Nations Security Council have been locked in intense negotiations over a resolution aimed at bringing in some form of ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

We're now hearing that the UIS says there are "serious and widespread concerns" that the draft resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates could "actually slow down" the delivery of of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

The aim of the resolution is to "facilitate and help expand humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza, and we cannot lose sight of that purpose," says Nate Evans, a spokesperson for the US mission to the United Nations, according to Reuters.

"We must ensure any resolution helps and doesn’t hurt the situation on the ground," he adds.

What the IDF videos of tunnels tell uspublished at 14:43 Greenwich Mean Time 21 December 2023

14:43 GMT 21 December 2023

Image source, IDF

BBC Verify is looking into several videos, released by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), claiming to show tunnel networks revealed under Gaza in the past 24 hours.

One is filmed outside and the buildings can be identified. Using online tools like Google Earth and Bing Maps, we’ve located the video to an area around the Palestine Square roundabout in north-west Gaza City.

The camera then leads into an adjacent garage, where there’s a large hole surrounded by a winch, a telephone and cement panelling. The shot has not been edited.

Lieutenant Ido of the 401st Brigade then explains how all of these elements would aid a tunnel, which he claims was recently under construction.

Looking on Google Earth, the location of the garage shows only a scaffold with a truck underneath it, dated from May 2022. However, looking on Bing Maps, a solid white roof can be seen at the same site, dating from August 2023. This suggests the garage was built relatively recently.

Another video - published by the Times of Israel and incorporates two IDF videos – is longer and is an edit of indoor and outdoors shots. It’s also filmed in both daylight and at night-time and without continuity between the two.

Indoor videos are usually much more challenging to verify. For one, there will be fewer landmarks to compare with online maps.

However, the insides of buildings can sometimes be identified using old pictures of the interiors.

Also, when two or more videos are edited together it becomes harder to say for certain where two locations are in relation to one another, say, a tunnel entrance and an identifiable street.

Image source, IDF

We've been hearing from Sean Casey, an emergency medical teams co-ordinator with the World Health Organization (WHO), who was part of a UN mission to hospitals in the north of Gaza yesterday.

He says the mission found no functioning hospitals or operating theatres there.

"[There is] no place for any woman who needs to deliver by caesarean section, no place for post-operative care," he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One programme.

"As a consequence, we're seeing an enormous amount of suffering."

Casey says he saw patients "essentially waiting to die, unless there's some way to get them out, which is extremely challenging".

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron is on a visit to Egypt, looking at ways to help bring more aid into Gaza, including a possible new sea route.

He said the UK was also pressing for a UN Security Council resolution to improve humanitarian access.

Voting has been repeatedly delayed this week, as the US – Israel’s closest ally has insisted on changes - another attempt at the vote is scheduled for today.

New discussions are now under way on a pause in fighting that could see more of the 100 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas released.

So far, Hamas has said it will only free them if there’s a full ceasefire. Today, there’s been intense Israeli bombing particularly in the north of Gaza where the UN’s health agency says it’s seen hundreds of seriously wounded patients waiting for days without treatment.

Footage emerges of explosions near Rafah hospitalpublished at 13:41 Greenwich Mean Time 21 December 2023

13:41 GMT 21 December 2023

Footage of a series of explosions in the southern city of Rafah has emerged in the last 24 hours.

One video - which we’ve geolocated to the grounds of the Kuwaiti hospital - shows smoke rising from at least two locations.

Separate footage, filmed from a roof, shows a collapsed building around 250m (273yds) from the hospital, and less than half a kilometre (550yds) from the Egyptian border.

The World Health Organization has said that nearly three-quarters of Gaza’s hospitals are now out of action due to the depletion of supplies and Israeli raids – a situation it describes as “unconscionable”.

The local Hamas-run authorities claimed that a series of air-strikes had taken place in the city, leaving 12 people dead and “dozens” wounded.

The Israeli army says it has carried out strikes against more than 300 targets around Gaza in the past 24 hours.

Image source, Telegram

Hamas has fired a barrage of rockets across Israel from the Gaza Strip, the group said on Telegram, as reported by Reuters news agency.

Israelis rushed into bomb shelters as sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and several other towns and cities across the country. A Reuters camera crew witnessed rocket interceptions as Hamas launched a salvo at Tel Aviv - the commercial capital.

No casualties were reported as Israel's Iron Dome system destroyed several rockets in the air.

It's just gone 13:00 here in London and 15:00 in Israel and Gaza. Here's a recap of what's been happening today:

• Hamas says Palestinian groups have rejected the prospect of more hostages being released until Israel agrees to end the war in Gaza
• The group's statement comes as talks continue in Cairo, Egypt, to try to broker a new truce in the conflict and secure the release of more Israeli hostages – about 120 are still believed to be in captivity
• The UN Security Council is again due to hold a vote on a resolution calling for pause in fighting in Gaza. The vote has already been delayed three times - most recently on Wednesday - as diplomats seek wording that won't be vetoed by the US
• Elsewhere, the World Health Organization says northern Gaza now doesn’t have a functioning hospital due to lack of fuel, staff and supplies
• Israel’s military says it has found a network of tunnels in Gaza City which connect to the homes of Hamas leaders

Stay with us as we continue to bring you live updates.