BBC journalists held at gunpoint by Israeli police

During the police search our teams kit was thrown on the floor

Police told a BBC team to stay still or they would be shot

BBC journalists covering the attack on Israel were assaulted and held at gunpoint after they were stopped by police in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

Muhannad Tutunji, Haitham Abudiab and their BBC Arabic team were driving to a hotel on Thursday when their car was intercepted.

They were dragged from the vehicle - marked "TV" in red tape - searched and pushed against a wall.

A BBC spokesperson said journalists "must be able to report on the conflict in Israel-Gaza freely".

Mr Tutunji and Mr Abudiab said they identified themselves as BBC journalists and showed police their press ID cards.

While attempting to film the incident, Mr Tutunji said his phone was thrown on the ground and he was struck on the neck.

"One of our BBC News Arabic teams deployed in Tel Aviv, in a vehicle clearly marked as media, was stopped and assaulted last night by Israeli police. Journalists must be able to report on the conflict in Israel-Gaza freely," a BBC spokesperson said.

The Israeli police later said in a statement that "in light of alerts as part of an operational activity" officers noticed "a suspicious vehicle and stopped it for inspection".

"During the inspection, the occupants of the vehicle, residents of East Jerusalem, were searched for fear of possession of weapons.

"At the end of the inspection and once the suspicion was removed, all the detainees were released at the site. If there is a claim for deviation from protocol one should contact the relevant authorities."

The statement added that Israel is at war with "a cruel enemy that is within the territories of the State of Israel" and operates with "cunning methods".

Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October, killing at least 1,300 people.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes.

Israel has told those in the north of the Gaza Strip - about 1.1 million people - to relocate to the south of the territory ahead of an expected ground offensive against Hamas.

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