Israel Palestine news RECAP: Rishi Sunak holds call with Israeli prime minister as Britain sends Royal Navy ships, Marines and spy planes the region

Rishi Sunak has held a phone call with Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 'reaffirm the UK's support' for the country, a Downing Street spokesperson has said.

The two leaders discussed 'Israel's response against Hamas in Gaza'.

Sunak confirmed the UK had authorised the sending of a 'significant support package to the region' after the government announced it would send two Royal Navy vessels and put on RAF surveillance flights.

'The prime minister passed on again the deep condolences of the British people for all those killed, injured or kidnapped in this unconscionable tragedy, the true scale and horror of which is only just becoming clear,' they added

'Prime minister Netanyahu thanked the UK for its solidarity, including in the visit of the foreign secretary to Israel this week.'

Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said that the continuation of crimes against Palestinians will receive a response from 'the rest of the axis' and that 'the zionist entity' will be responsible.

The displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians and cutting off water and electricity is considered a war crime, he added through a translator at a press conference.

There have been at least 34 attacks on health care facilities recorded in Gaza so far, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech tonight that October 7 - the day Hamas terrorsists attacked Israel - was 'the most horrifying day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.'

His comments came as the Knesset formally approved a united emergency government between Netanyahu and leader of the centrist opposition party Benny Gantz.

'The emergency government that we are fitting today out of national responsibility conveys a message of enormous power to the world and as well here in our country. We are all standing in this battle together,' Netanyahu said.

Egyptian President Sisi has said Gazans must 'remain on their land' amid a sustained aerial bombardment of the densely-populated enclave by Israel.

Egypt has been working to avert a mass exodus from the Gaza Strip into its Sinai Peninsula, the main exit point for people looking to flee.

France's Interior minister Gerald Darmanin has banned pro-Palestine protests in the country saying they are 'likely to generate disturbances to public order'.

Visiting Israel today, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said 'Hamas continues to use civilians as human shields,' making the situation 'complicated'.

Israel has reported at leats 1,300 deaths, according to the country's public broadcaster Kan.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Health Ministry has said 1,417 people have been killed in Gaza.

The morgue at Gaza's biggest hospital is overflowing, with bodies coming in faster than relatives could claim them amid Israel's heavy aerial bombardment on the territory of 2.3 million people.

Two officers were wounded Thursday in a shooting in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, police said, adding the gunman was 'neutralised'.

One of the officers was in serious condition and the other suffered minor injuries, police said citing medics.

The attack took place near the Shalem police station, just outside the Herod’s Gate entrance to the Jerusalem Old City.

The gunman reportedly used a makeshift submachine gun.

Officers are reportedly searching the area to rule out a possible accomplice.

Two Jewish schools in north London will temporarily close their doors 'in the interests of the safety of our precious children', Sky reports.

Torah Vodaas Primary School in Edgware and Ateres Beis Yaakov Primary School in Colindale both told parents this evening that they would not be reopening until Monday.

The UK will send two ships to the Eastern Mediterranean and start surveillance flights over Israel in a show of military support, The Times has reported.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels RFA Argus and RFA Lyme Bay will be sent to the region, according to the newspaper.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid HAS accused the Israeli government of 'unpardonable failure' for not preventing the brutal weekend attack by Hamas terrorists that killed more than 1,200 people in Israel.

'Saturday's failure is unpardonable,' Lapid said in a televised address, adding that he would not join the emergency government announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his rival Benny Gantz.

The Israeli army says it has bombarded the Gaza Strip with approximately 6,000 bombs containing a total of 4,000 tonnes of explosives since Saturday.

'Approximately 6,000 bombs have been dropped on the Gaza Strip with a total weight of 4,000 tonnes,' the army said in a statement this afternoon.

Officials have reported 1,354 people have been killed in Gaza since Saturday, where buildings have been levelled to the ground by Israeli bombs.

Israel says it is targeting Hamas strongholds and infrastructure. However, the terrorist group hides among civilians, using them as human shields.

Gaza's hospitals 'risk turning into morgues', said the International Committee of the Red Cross Middle East chief Fabrizio Carboni earlier today, stressing 'the human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent'.

Relatives of Franco-Israeli citizens have urged French President Emmanuel Macron to help free and locate their missing children, siblings and partners.

'I want my sister back, I want everyone to find their missing family,' Meitav Journo, sister of 24-year-old Karin Journo, told reporters in Tel Aviv, struggling to hold back tears as she spoke alongside the relatives of other missing Franco-Israelis.

'President Macron, it's in your hands ... you have the powers to get them home.'

• Twelve French citizens are confirmed dead in Israel, and 17 are missing, according to the latest official tally
• Macron will address the nation on TV this evening to call for unity and try to prevent any spillover of the conflict in France
• There has been a rise in antisemitic acts in the country since Saturday's attack, a concerning trend also seen in the UK

Britain's Chief Rabbi has thanked King Charles for his supportive words for the Jewish community following the Hamas attacks in Israel.

In a statement after the pair met at Buckingham Palace, Sir Ephraim Mirvis said: 'At a time when Jews around the world are grieving following the unspeakable evil perpetrated against loved ones in Israel, I want to thank His Majesty King Charles III for expressing in person his deep concern, and his support for the Jewish community.

'His words of comfort and solidarity give us strength at this dark time.'

You can read the full story on their meeting here

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned violence against civilians on both sides of the conflict.

His comments come in the wake of the devastating attack by Hamas gunmen on Israel and the relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israeli jets that has followed.

'We reject the practices of killing civilians or abusing them on both sides because they contravene morals, religion and international law,' the official Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted Abbas as saying.

His comments came during a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah, pictured together in this press photograph from Reuters.

Former US president Donald Trump last night slammed Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his country's failure to predict Saturday's Hamas attack.

• On Wednesday evening Trump told Fox News: 'We have to protect Israel. There's no choice. And we have to do it.'
• He questioned how Israeli intelligence was unable to 'pick up' on the attack
• 'Thousands of people were involved. Thousands of people knew about it and they let this slip by. That was not a good thing for him or for anybody,' he said
• On Netanyahu, he said: 'He has been hurt very badly because of what's happened here. He was not prepared. He was not prepared and Israel was not prepared. And under Trump, they wouldn't have had to be prepared.'
• Speaking to supporters in Florida, he described as 'very smart' the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah which, like Hamas in Gaza, is backed by Iran
• White House spokesman Andrew Bates called the comments 'dangerous and unhinged,' while some of Trump's Republican opponents assailed him for criticizing a US ally at a time of crisis.

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Humza Yousaf's wife has interrupted an interview in tears fearing the home her family in Gaza were staying in had been bombed.

Both Mr Yousaf and his wife, Nadia El-Nakla, have been candid in their fears for her family - including her parents, grandmother and brother and his children - who are currently 'trapped' in Gaza.

Ms El-Nakla had been watching TV reports of bombing, and recognised the area as where they were staying and feared it had been hit, although was later able to contact her mother.

Her parents, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, travelled to Gaza last week to visit his 93-year-old mother when Hamas attacked Israel.

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Defence ministers at NATO's Brussels headquarters watched stunned as their Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Thursday showed them 'shocking' and 'horrific' video from the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians, diplomats have said today.

Gallant, who remotely attended the one-hour NATO session, briefed ministers on the attack and showed them what the Times of Israel, which was the first to report on it, called an 'uncensored video of Hamas atrocities'.

• One Western diplomat said: 'It was horrific. It brought home to everyone the reality of what happened', Reuters news agency reports
• Another source spoke of 'graphic and shocking footage'
• The video had 'graphic elements' with 'some blurring to protect the dignity of victims', an official in the room said
• Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu has alleged Hamas terrorists engaged in atrocities, including binding boys and girls and shooting them in the head, burning people alive, raping women and beheading soldiers
• Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas movement that rules Gaza in retribution for the the attacks

A six-month-old baby named Ariel is among the 17 Britons feared missing or dead in Israel after Saturday's Hamas terrorist attack.

The tiny baby is unaccounted for after the gunmen stormed into Israel and massacred more than 1,300 Israelis.

Arial was pictured wearing a baby grow and carrying a small ball that is nearly the size of her head during a press conference in London held by British Israelis whose family members are missing.

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Israeli strikes knocked Syria's two main airports out of service on Thursday, Syrian state media said.

• The 'simultaneous' strikes on the Aleppo and Damascus airports 'damaged landing strips in the two airports, putting them out of service', state media said, citing a military source.

The anguished parents of a British man killed by Hamas during a music festival in Israel on Saturday have said their final farewell to him.

• Dor Shafir, and his fiancée Savion Hen Kiper, both 30, were killed on Saturday as Hamas gunmen attacked the Nova music festival
• His parents - father Itzik and mother Miriam - attended their son's funeral on Wednesday at a cemetery in Modiin Maccabim
• Dor was last heard from early Saturday morning, as the attack unfolded.
• Savion was found dead first while Dor remained unaccounted for, but his death was later confirmed by his family in a tragic message on Facebook

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Israeli strikes targeted Syria's two main airports on Thursday, Syrian state television said, in the first such attack since a Hamas assault on Israel at the weekend triggered fierce fighting.

• 'Israeli aggression targets Damascus and Aleppo airports,' the state television reported on the messaging app Telegram, without providing additional details.
• Israeli strikes have repeatedly caused the grounding of flights at the airports in Aleppo and the capital Damascus, both of which are controlled by the government of war-torn Syria.
• The latest strikes came as Hamas and Israel traded heavy fire for a sixth day, after hundreds of Hamas gunmen stormed across the Gaza border into Israel on Saturday and killed more than 1,000 civilians.
• During more than a decade of war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its northern neighbour, primarily targeting Iran-backed forces and Hezbollah fighters as well as Syrian army positions.
• Israel rarely comments on individual strikes it carries out on Syria, but it has repeatedly said it would not allow its arch-foe Iran, which supports Assad's government, to expand its footprint there.

The UK will facilitate flights out of Israel to help British citizens leave the country, with the first such flight due to depart Tel Aviv later on Thursday, the foreign office said.

• The Government said vulnerable British nationals would be prioritised for flights out of Israel.
• The first flight will leave Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv later on Thursday, the Foreign Office said.
• The Government said those eligible to leave would be contacted directly and British nationals should not go to airports unless they are called to.
• It is understood the commercial flights will cost £300 per ticket.

At least 25 Americans have been killed in the attack by Hamas terrorists in Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

• Blinken said Washington was working closely with Israel to secure the release of people taken hostage by Hamas terrorists

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood shoulder to shoulder with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu today as the pair met for talks in Israel.

• 'We're here and we're not going anywhere,' Blinken told Netanyahu as the two shook hands.
• Blinken vowed that the US will 'always' back Israel but said the Palestinians had 'legitimate aspirations' not represented by terrorists Hamas.
• 'You may be strong enough on your own defend yourself. But as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side,' he said.

British families of Israeli captives seized by Hamas terrorists have claimed the gunmen 'raped girls over their friends' bodies' as they 'carried out a second Holocaust'

• British nationals Noam Sagi and Sharon Lifschitz spoke of how their elderly parents were torn from their beds and taken to Gaza by Hamas
• 'I shouldn't be here today, I was supposed to Heathrow to pick up my mum who's coming to celebrate her 75th birthday here today in London,' Sagi, 53, said of his mother Agi Sagi, who was kidnapped when Hamas invaded Nir Oz Kibbutz.
• 'I'm here because of pure evil,' Sagi added.
• He told how the families living in the kibbutz were 'gassed, burned, slaughtered, killed and kidnapped'.
• 'Mostly young kids and elderly people. They burned the place to the ground, shot the dogs, nothing left,' Sagi, a London-based psychotherapist said.

At least 100 people are believed to have travelled from the UK to Israel to serve in the Israeli military as it mounts a retaliatory campaign against Hamas.

• The Israeli Embassy in the UK said it was understood those who travelled were 'reservists and active duty soldiers' in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
• 'The Embassy of Israel understands that at least 100 reservists and active duty soldiers have gone back to Israel from the UK to serve in the IDF,' a statement said.
• Israel is understood to be preparing to launch an assault into Gaza.

Former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal has called for protests to take place across the Muslim world on Friday in support of Palestinians.

• Khaled Meshaal, who led Hamas from 2004 to 2017 and now lives in Qatar, said: '[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday.'
• Meshaal said the governments and peoples of Jordan, Syria , Lebanon and Egypt have a bigger duty to support the Palestinians.
• He declared Friday 13 'The Friday of the Al-Aqsa Flood'

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A devastated father has said he welcomed the news that his eight-year-old daughter had been killed by Hamas terrorists because it was better than her being taken hostage during the barbaric attack on the Be'eri Kibbutz.

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A total of 1,354 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip, the local health ministry has said.

A further 6,049 people have been injured.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

'We're here, we're not going anywhere,' Blinken told the Israeli leader, signalling America's support following the Hamas terrorist attack.

The British government has ordered families of its diplomats in Israel to leave the country as a 'precautionary measure' amid the on-going conflict.

A foreign office statement said British diplomats would remain on active duty in the country after it was plunged into chaos by the Hamas terrorist attack on Saturday.

'We are temporarily drawing down dependants of staff at our Embassy in Tel Aviv and our Consulate in Jerusalem as a precautionary measure,' the statement said.

'Our Embassy and Consulate remain fully staffed and continue to provide consular services to those who require assistance.'

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday that the blockaded Gaza Strip still had some fuel to operate generators, including in hospitals, but that it could run out in a few hours.

'Our understanding is that there is still fuel - but probably only for a few hours - to allow generators to work, including in hospitals,' said Fabrizio Carboni, ICRC's regional director for the Near and Middle East, told reporters.

Israel's military assault against Hamas is focusing on 'taking out' the terrorist group's senior leadership in the Gaza Strip, including chief Yahya Sinwar (pictured below), an army spokesman has said.

'Right now we are focused on taking out their senior leadership, not only the military leadership (but) also their governmental leadership, all the way up to Sinwar,' Richard Hecht told journalists, referring to Hamas's chief in the enclave.

'They were directly connected' to the attack that Hamas launched on Israel over the weekend that left more than 1,300 people dead, he added.

A group of independent United Nations experts on Thursday condemned violence against civilians in Israel and deplored the 'collective punishment' of reprisal strikes against Gaza.

While condemning the 'horrific crimes committed by Hamas', the group said that Israel had resorted to 'indiscriminate military attacks against the already exhausted Palestinian people of Gaza'.

'They have lived under unlawful blockade for 16 years, and already gone through five major brutal wars, which remain unaccounted for,' the group, which includes several U.N. special rapporteurs, said in a statement.

'This amounts to collective punishment. There is no justification for violence that indiscriminately targets innocent civilians, whether by Hamas or Israeli forces. This is absolutely prohibited under international law and amounts to a war crime.'

The group said that taking hostages in the context of hostilities also constituted a war crime.

'The civilians taken by Hamas must be immediately released, pending which their fate and whereabouts must be disclosed,' the experts said.

The Israeli death toll had risen to more than 1,300 people since Saturday. Most were civilians gunned down by Hamas in their homes, on the streets or at a dance party.

Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza.

Israel said on Thursday there would be no humanitarian break to its siege of the Gaza Strip until all its hostages were freed.

Three Chinese nationals have been confirmed dead in the latest Israel-Palestinian war,' Beijing has said today.

Two others are missing and several have been injured, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

He urged authorities to make every effort to search for and rescue the missing.

The Chinese Embassy in Israel reported earlier in the week that a young woman of Israeli and Chinese heritage was among the scores of hostages taken by Hamas fighters.

Israel's military spokesperson has said that Israel has been able to confirm the identities of 97 people taken hostage into Gaza during the attack by Hamas.

Israel had earlier said up to 150 people had been kidnapped and taken across the border on Saturday, suggesting more people are yet to be identified.

Hamas says it has hidden the hostages in 'safe places and tunnels' within Gaza, but has threatened to execute one every time Israel strikes civilian targets in the enclave without warning.

The offensive Israel launched on the blockaded Palestinian enclave since was meant to eliminate the ability of the Islamist group to govern, Daniel Hagari said in a televised press briefing.

'The military is preparing for the next stage of the war,' he said, adding that 222 soldiers had been killed since Saturday.

Israel today warned it wouldn't let any food, medicine or electricity reach the Palestinians stranded in the Gaza Strip until Hamas terrorists release the 150 Israeli hostages they captured.

'Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home,' Israel's Energy Minister Israel Katz vowed in a sinister threat.

'Humanitarian for humanitarian. And no one will preach us morals,' Katz added.

The stark warning comes as Israeli airstrikes continued to obliterate entire neighbourhoods and the IDF encircled Gaza with 300,000 troops ahead of an expected ground offensive that will see fighting in the streets.

But the airstrikes, which have killed 1,200 civilians in Gaza, and the total siege of the enclave has prompted the US to warn Israel to 'uphold the laws of war'.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with the Palestinian and Jordanian leaders in Amman, a US official has said.

Blinken arrived for a solidarity visit to Israel on Thursday.

'Tomorrow (Friday) in Amman, Secretary Blinken will have meetings with Palestinian president (Mahmud) Abbas and Jordanian King Abdullah II,' the official told an AFP correspondent travelling with Blinken.

The head of Australia's domestic intelligence agency has today warned about the potential for opportunistic violence and called for calm as tensions rise ahead of another planned pro-Palestinian protest in response to the Israel-Hamas war.

In rare public statement, Mike Burgess, who is head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said protests and rallies following the attacks by Hamas are likely to continue.

He said he remained concerned about the potential for opportunistic violence.

'In this context, it is important that all parties consider the implications for social cohesion when making public statements,' Burgess said. 'Words matter. ASIO has seen direct connections between inflamed language and inflamed community tensions.'

A pro-Palestinian rally outside the city's iconic Opera House on Monday ignited a heated debate after a small group were filmed chanting 'gas the Jews'.

Organisers said those filmed were a fringe group of 'vile' antisemites who had been told to leave.

Leaders across the political spectrum have denounced the comments and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the protest should never have gone ahead.

The Red Cross has pleaded for fuel to be allowed into the besieged Gaza Strip to prevent overwhelmed hospitals from 'turning into morgues'.

The sole electric power station in the enclave switched off yesterday after it ran out of fuel, and hospitals are running out of fuel for emergency generators.

'The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians,' Fabrizio Carboni, regional director of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement on Thursday.

'As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk. Kidney dialysis stops, and X-rays can’t be taken. Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues.'

The organisation has said it is in contact with Hamas and Israel to try and negotiate the release of hostages. Israel has said it will not lift the siege on Gaza until they are freed, while Hamas has said they will not be released until the bombardment stops.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have said five of its members have been killed in the conflict.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler and Iran's president spoke by phone about the war between Israel and Hamas, Saudi state media said this morning, their first call since a surprise rapprochement in March.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a call on Wednesday from the Iranian leader, Ebrahim Raisi, during which they discussed 'the current military situation in Gaza and its environs', the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.

Prince Mohammed told Raisi that Riyadh is 'communicating with all international and regional parties to stop the ongoing escalation', SPA said. He also stressed 'the kingdom's firm position towards supporting the Palestinian cause', it said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today condemned 'all acts of terrorism and brutality' following the Hamas attack on Israel.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex added that they were 'supporting our partners and organisations on the frontlines in Israel to provide the urgent aid needed'.

In a message posted on their Archewell website under the title 'with heavy hearts', the couple said: 'At The Archewell Foundation, with Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, we stand against all acts of terrorism and brutality.

'We are supporting our partners and organisations on the frontlines in Israel to provide the urgent aid needed, and to help all innocent victims of this unconscionable level of human suffering.'

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Israel is targeting an underground system of tunnels in Gaza with its airstrikes, according to Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman.

The network was built and populated by Hamas, enabling them to hide from Israeli forces in the event of an attack.

'What Hamas has done since they took control almost 20 years ago was to build a network of tunnels from Gaza City and under Gaza City all the way down to Khan Yunis and Rafah,' Conricus said, according to the BBC.

He explained that the Gaza Strip needs to be thought of in two layers - one for civilians at ground level, and a subterranean level underneath. 'What we are trying to do now is get to that second layer that Hamas has built,' he said.

His comments come as Israel gears up to launch an offensive into the enclave, and a rescue mission to free Israeli hostages.

The Hamas -run Gaza Strip is a tiny enclave, measuring 25 miles long and no more than seven miles wide, surveilled continually by Israel, surrounded by its guns.

But rescuing - or even locating - more than 150 hostages hustled there by Palestinian terrorists who overran Israel's southern border on Saturday will be a daunting task.

Gaza's densely populated terrain, its network of underground tunnels and the sheer numbers of men, women and children taken captive present Israel with the most complex hostage crisis that the country has ever faced.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has weighed in on the conflict, blaming Iran for backing Hamas to grow into the terrorist body that carried out the attack on Israel.

He also attacked Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas for his 'shameful' silence on the attacks - that left at least 1,300 Israelis dead - and urged him to clearly condemn Hamas' actions.

'Where is the clear condemnation of the terrorist violence by the autonomous (Palestinian) Authority and by its president, Mahmoud Abbas?' Scholz said in an address to parliament. 'Their silence is shameful,' he said.

On Iran, Scholz said: 'While we have no firm proof that Iran operationally supported this cowardly attack, it is clear to us all that without Iranian support Hamas would never have been able to launch this unprecedented attack.'

He also pledged Germany's full support to Israel, pointing to his country's history and 'responsibility stemming from the Holocaust'.

'For Germany at the moment, the only place is at Israel's side,' he said. 'Our own history, our responsibility stemming from the Holocaust, make it an everlasting duty to stand up for the existence and security of the state of Israel.'

A top Israeli official has said the siege of Gaza will not end until hostages - taken into the enclave by Hamas terrorists - are freed.

Energy Minister Israel Katz said no 'electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter' until those who were kidnapped on Saturday are returned home.

Israel stopped the supplies into the Gaza Strip after Hamas attacked on Saturday, and has vowed to wipe out the group.

All signs are pointing to an immanent Israeli invasion of the territory, home to two million people, which is it also shelling.

The chief executive of easyJet has said the British airline wants to restart flights to Israel as soon as possible, but that it could not currently say when this would happen.

'That is obviously something that we want to do as soon as possible but we cannot say now,' CEO Johan Lundgren told reporters on Thursday.

The airline suspended its Tel Aviv routes on Sunday.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has arrived in Israel in a show of American support for the country after Saturday's Hamas terrorist attacks.

Blinken is expected to visit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Washington closes ranks with its ally that has launched a withering air campaign against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip since the attacks.

The top US diplomat will also try to help secure the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas - some of whom are Americans - and safe passage of Gaza civilians out of the densely-populated enclave ahead of a possible Israeli ground invasion.

Four of Britain's top lawyers have complained to Ofcom over the BBC's refusal to label Hamas 'terrorists' after its attacks on Israel.

The corporation last night defended its decision not to describe Hamas militants as 'terrorists' in its coverage of the deadly attacks in Israel, despite receiving a huge backlash from politicians and those within the Jewish community.

The broadcaster's refusal continues despite King Charles condemning the 'barbaric acts of terrorism' while the Prince and Princess of Wales spoke of their distress following 'Hamas's terrorist attack'.

Instead, the BBC refers to Hamas as a 'militant' group and described the slaughter of civilians as a 'militant' attack.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis accused broadcasters of trying to 'wilfully mislead' by not using the word terrorist, while Defence Secretary Grant Shapps called on the corporation to 'get the moral compass out' and Labour leader Keir Starmer urged the broadcaster to 'explain' its reasoning.

Lord Wolfson KC, Lord Pannick KC, Lord Grabiner KC and Jeremy Brier KC have now accused the BBC of failing to show impartiality 'beyond doubt' by describing Hamas in 'more sympathetic terms' as 'militants'.

The four senior lawyers signed a letter calling on Ofcom to investigate. In a letter seen by the Telegraph, they said: 'On 7th October 2023, Hamas launched a large invasion of the State of Israel which resulted variously in the slaughter, rape and abduction of over a thousand Israeli citizens. There is nothing controversial about that. It is a fact.

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline's live coverage of the sixth day of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Israel continued to pound Gaza on Thursday, vowing to 'destroy' Hamas after the groups' unprecedented surprise attack on Saturday, slaughtering civilians.

Thousands of people on both sides have died, with Israel responding to the killings with a massive bombardment of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Israel has massed its military forces around the besieged Palestinian enclave in what appears to be preparation for a possible ground invasion, and an attempt to rescue Israeli hostages who were taken back across the border by terrorists.

Here's what you need to know this morning:

• Israel says Hamas gunmen have killed more than 1,300 people and wounded over 2,700 in Israeli cities, towns and kibbutz communities
• In Gaza, health officials said 1,200 people had been killed and 5,600 wounded
• Israel launched an 'extensive attack' on Hamas targets in Gaza overnight, which carried on into Thursday morning
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to 'crush and destroy' Hamas with the support of a new war cabinet that includes a longtime opposition critic
• Israel's military appears to have confirmed reports that babies were beheaded by Hamas terrorists in a Kibbutz close to the Gaza Strip where some 108 bodies were found
• Hamas claimed that four captives died in Israeli strikes and threatened to kill the others if civilian targets were bombed without advance warning from Israel
• Hamas claimed that four captives died in Israeli strikes and threatened to kill the others if civilian targets were bombed without advance warning from Israel
• It said it fired 5,000 rockets in an offensive it branded 'Operation Al-Aqsa Flood' and ruled out negotiating a prisoner swap with Israel as 'the military operation is still ongoing'
• US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called the attack by Hamas the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust as the number of U.S. citizens killed in the fighting ticked up to at least 22
• Other countries have also seen casualties, including Britain, with 17 UK nationals either missing or confirmed dead
• Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Israel