of a ground invasion. israel's army says it's already launched raids inside gaza. there is a report the hamas commander, who led last week's attack has been killed. the us secretary of state is in saudi arabia, which says it's suspended talks on potentially normalising ties with israel. this is the scene live in gaza. israel says it is giving people a few more hours to get out of the area. hello. israel says people living in the north of gaza had a further three hours to leave the area as israeli troops continue to mass on the border. un officials say tens of

thousands of people have already left, those who remain have been told there are two safe routes to the south, one to the centre of the gaza strip and one along the coast. they have been told to move south. israeli troops say they are preparing to hunt down and destroy hamas, which is regarded as a terror organisation by many western governments, including the uk. there are reports that hamas commander, who led the attack, is already dead. officials say at least 2215 people have been killed so far in an israeli air strikes on gaza. limited rates have already taken place and there are reports that bodies of some israeli hostages had been recovered. those reports earlier in the media today. later the israeli defence force denied that those that the hostages were snatched a week ago by hamas militants in raids

which left this is the scene. 1300 people killed. there are tanks amassing on the boundary between gaza and israel. we have been watching these images for the last hour or so and have seen various tanks in that area, people moving around slightly but we have seen several tanks. you will see tanks massing on the border with gaza. our reporter nickjohnson has the latest details. fleeing for their lives. those living in the north of the gaza strip heading south. 1.1 million people, roughly the same size as the entire population of birmingham, were told by israel they had 2a hours to leave their homes. "it happened to our grandfathers. now it's happening

to us," mohammed says. "it's raising the ghosts of the past." the bombs still fall, tearing buildings and families apart. "i want my daddy," this little girl cries. explosions israel says it's already launched some localised ground raids inside gaza. while it readies its next move, a warning from prime minister benjamin netanyahu. translation: we are striking our- enemies with an unprecedented power. our enemies havejust begun to pay the price. i can't divulge what comes next, but i can tell you this isjust the beginning. the un secretary—general urged both sides to protect civilians. even wars have rules. international humanitarian law and human rights law must be

respected and upheld. civilians must be protected and also never used as shields. it's exactly a week since hamas gunmen rampaged through southern israel. families still coming to terms with the lives lost. this memorialfor tom godo, killed while protecting his wife and three children during the attack on a kibbutz. at least 150 israelis were kidnapped. families of the victims leaning on each other for support. katia's son among those missing. translation: we are very anxious. our hope is that our child comes back. we cannot think otherwise. our child has to come home. a deep sense of foreboding, the ratcheting up of this crisis

inevitable, as is the continued loss of life. nickjohnson, bbc news. the palestinian authority's representative at the un compared the current situation to the mass palestinian migration after the creation of the state of israel. we should not allow, as humans and us as defenders of international humanitarian law, and as un and as the security council, to allow after 75 years of another... to fall on our people by depopulating the gaza strip of its 2.3 million and throw them outside to egypt and to make it an egyptian problem. the israeli ambassador to the united nations has called on the un to support israel's order to evacuate gaza. prime minister benjamin netanyahu said israelis were "fighting for the homeland."

l translation: we are striking our| enemies with unprecedented power. i emphasise, it is just the beginning. our enemies havejust begun to pay the price. i can't divulge what comes next, but i can tell you it isjust the beginning. the un secretary general — antonio guterres — called for the release of all hostages and said it's "impossible" for palestinians to fully comply with evacuation orders. the situation in gaza has reached a dangerous new low. the horrific terror attacks by hamas on israel that killed more than 1,200 people and injured thousands more last saturday were followed by intense bombardment of gaza that has already killed 1,800 people and injured thousands more. moving more than1 million people across a densely—populated war zone to a place with no food, water or accommodation, when the entire territory is under siege is extremely dangerous and in some cases

simply not possible. let's hear from someone in gaza. mahmoud shalabi is the gaza director for medical aid for palestine. i asked him about the situation on the ground there. thank you so much for hosting me. life is really miserable and dire. the situation is really tense where i live, i live in the north of gaza, in one of the places that the israelis have asked people to flee from yesterday. i am one of the people who did not flee their home and i refuse to do so because there is no place that is safe in gaza. even in the southern parts of gaza, where many of my colleagues have went and where many internally displaced people are located right now, it is really unsafe. just yesterday around apm, one truck full of internally displaced people was directly

targeted by the israelis and 71 people were killed in that direct hit of internally—displaced people. so, there is no place that is currently safe right now. i am talking to you because i have a generator that we bought years ago and i've managed to have some fuel, left over fuel, from the fuel station where i live. so i am one of the few ones who can actually connect to the outside world and tell you about the situation right now in gaza. and are many people doing the same as you in the area where you are? they are staying? they are staying because we do believe that it is unsafe to move right now to any place in the southern parts of gaza, as i told you, there have been many air strikes since yesterday and early this morning, one of the safe areas in the south of the gaza strip, a colleague of mine lives there, he has hosted six families of internally displaced people.

this morning at 7am, an air strike happened next to his home and they are trying to extract dead bodies from under the rubble. so, as i told you, there is no place that is safe right now. israel has said it has created safe passage routes from the north to the south and they will give it six hours. the quote from them is they will not come to any harm. i am not sure if this is going to hold. because yesterday we were also given, as palestinians, safe passage from the early sunlight until around 6pm or something. that happened during that time. in addition, if you also see what is happening during the night in those areas in the southern parts of gaza, there have been many air strikes and many houses destroyed over the top of the residents.

there have been no warnings, such as in previous escalations, they have drawn missiles on top of buildings to warn the citizens they must flee their homes. nothing. yesterday, one of my colleagues at medical aid for palestinians, mohammed, his house was destroyed while he was in there with his wife and six children. they managed to miraculously escape but they lost some of their extended family members — he lost his cousin. the situation has been really dire. he stayed in a shop, the neighbours opened the shop for them to stay there during the night and at early sunlight he went to the largest hospital in gaza strip and he described the situation for me. the hospital itself is full of internally—displaced people because they do not find any other place that is safe to go. people in the hospitals have been told to leave as well, haven't they?

the one where i live, it is an ngo hospital, where more than 35 doctors and staff nurses work relentlessly, have been told twice to evacuate. the hospital manager this morning said we will not evacuate, we have patients we cannot move outside the hospital. and staff are on top of their work and we will not go out, so if you are talking about where i just described the situation earlier with my colleague, there are long queues of patients and there are no painkillers even available for those people. a nurse can come stop the bleeding and say, "wait for your turn to come." the morgue has been filled with dead bodies, people are unable to identify their loved ones and if you are able to identify the dead bodies, you take them in your own cars, usually an ambulance will take them to the house and you proceed

with the funeral. but nowadays, there are no ambulances available. 20 ambulances have been directly targeted by israeli forces during this escalation, so it's unsafe for them to move and the priority is for the people who are injured. what about this imminent ground offensive from israel? if you are staying there in that area, you may well be affected by that? i may well die. but i refuse to go out. in 19118, the catastrophe happened, i am not going to be part of a second such occasion and i will remain where i am because i believe my existence in itself is a public resistance. i will refuse to flee my home like my grandparents did in 19118 and i will not go to any of

the so—called shelters where people are unable to find safe refuge right now in gaza. i am unfortunately, i would say, i'm happy to die in my home among my family and my loved ones. in terms of what you have, your supplies, we hear that people have no water even, let alone food. yes, yes. water, because i live near a hospital, they have their generators running — basic services and they operate water generators and people go there and fill drinking water so there is not even water for sanitation, for the people. the bakery shops have all been closed because there is no flour and fuel for them to operate large machines in the bigger stores. —— of the bakery stores. i went outside today to buy my family some bread and was not able to do so. i have managed to secure some basic

commodities in the second day of this war in gaza so i have some items left but for how long i am not sure. we are surviving. with me now is our middle east regional editor, mike thomson. he was saying he is going to say, it is like his form of resistance. we have also been seeing images from near the boundary of israeli tanks. i can probably show you the images now, israeli tanks massing on the border, preparing for a possible ground offensive. some people saying it could be days away. what is your feeling on this? so it could be days away. what is your feeling on this?— feeling on this? so hard to call at the moment _ feeling on this? so hard to call at the moment. all— feeling on this? so hard to call at the moment. all the _ feeling on this? so hard to call at the moment. all the movement i feeling on this? so hard to call at| the moment. all the movement of israeli tanks on the southern edges of gaza. makes you wonder if they are ready for something more immediate. it has been widely acknowledged there could be an enormous number of civilian casualties. tens of thousands have

gone. the two safe routes designated by israel, one more internal one by the coast, they are quite damaged by a lot of the bombing, the air strikes that have gone on. most people do not have private cars, they cannot afford them. if people do not have private cars, they cannot afford them.- people do not have private cars, they cannot afford them. if they do, they cannot afford them. if they do, the do they cannot afford them. if they do, they do not — they cannot afford them. if they do, they do not have _ they cannot afford them. if they do, they do not have for _ they cannot afford them. if they do, they do not have for them. - they cannot afford them. if they do, they do not have for them. fuel- they cannot afford them. if they do, they do not have for them. fuel for| they do not have for them. fuel for rivate they do not have for them. fuel for private vehicles _ they do not have for them. fuel for private vehicles short, _ they do not have for them. fuel for private vehicles short, anyway. - they do not have for them. fuel for. private vehicles short, anyway. then you have all the people, we were hearing about people in hospitals in gaza. it will be next to impossible to get them all need. there are not pleats and fleets of ambulances. there is all that going on. also of course there have been threats from elsewhere in the region, from his brother in lebanon, saying if israel goesin brother in lebanon, saying if israel goes in on a major ground offensive, they will enter the conflict. and they will enter the conflict. and they are a very powerful force. it may well be, going back to your

question, perhaps there will be a little time when israel will wait and see how many people have left and see how many people have left and then perhaps do more air strikes because that is the big thing that always follows these major incursions on selected targets. when they try to get into gaza, fighting in such a densely populated place as gazais in such a densely populated place as gaza is liable to be a lot of casualties on both sides. i think what is interesting _ casualties on both sides. i think what is interesting is _ casualties on both sides. i think what is interesting is they - casualties on both sides. i think what is interesting is they gave | what is interesting is they gave this 24—hour deadline, didn't ache and israel, for people to leave the north of gaza? they seemed to extend it a bit with the safe corridors and safe passage routes you have been talking about. there was a lot of pressure from the international community when the deadline was announced, saying it was impossible, the un said. do you see that as israel listening? i the un said. do you see that as israel listening?— the un said. do you see that as israel listening? i think they are. there has been _ israel listening? i think they are. there has been such _ israel listening? i think they are. there has been such pressure i israel listening? i think they are. there has been such pressure on israel listening? i think they are. - there has been such pressure on them over concern for civilians. anthony

blinking is doing a fast paced tour around the region were trying to whip up support for an anti—hamas coalition. he knows that if... already we have seen so many casualties, more than 2200, £3 and in the last 2a hours. it is not going to help public opinion in surrounding arab countries. —— 3000 in the last 2a hours. let it show wedding and give another six hours, although that is still not very long. now only two and a half hours left of that. i think they are listening. left of that. i think they are listening-— left of that. i think they are listeninu. ~ ., ., ., ., listening. what about the role of the un security _ listening. what about the role of the un security council? - listening. what about the role of the un security council? they i listening. what about the role of. the un security council? they have been talking about a ceasefire. could it be imminent? i do been talking about a ceasefire. could it be imminent?- been talking about a ceasefire. could it be imminent? i do not see israel going _ could it be imminent? i do not see israel going along _ could it be imminent? i do not see israel going along with _ could it be imminent? i do not see israel going along with it. - could it be imminent? i do not see israel going along with it. there i could it be imminent? i do not see israel going along with it. there is| israel going along with it. there is such incredible anger in israel over the atrocities committed by hamas,

starting on saturday. i think that move, it would be surprising. i think they think we have got to get in there and try to get at hamas while they are most vulnerable. they are given more time to organise themselves better, hideaway better. in all of this, what we have not mentioned is the israeli hostages, 120 of those. some sadly have died. we do not know where they are. that will be one of the main focuses. then being used as human shields. exactly. there have been claims that israel has killed 13 hostages by their air strikes. this is another added complication. now it is time to get all of the sport.

hello. it's a huge weekend at the rugby union world cup, with four quarter—finals that are really hard to call. wales will fancy their chances against argentina, and england should beat fiji, but, remember, lost to them in a warm—up match in august. and what about ireland, the world number one side? up against the three—time winners, who've found their form, and now stand between ireland and a first ever world cup semi—final. our sports correspondent andy swiss looks ahead. they've already had plenty to cheer at this world cup. chanting: wales, wales, wales! now ireland, wales, and england fans are hoping for even more. ireland have never been beyond the quarter—finals, but then they have never been this good. six nations champions and world number ones, and while they're up against three—time winners new zealand, they believe it's their time. when we were kids, we didn't dream of ireland winning the world cup.

i suppose we've put ourselves in a position now to go and do that. but it's something to go and get, its not something to be pressured about. here in marseille, meanwhile, wales and england will also be hoping to reach the semifinals. both face big challenges, but both have big chances. wales are up against argentina, a team they have a decent record against. and their travelling fans descending on marseille can't wait. yeah, i'm very confident, actually. for all of us, i think, it's like a dream come true, a childhood dream, come out away world cup with your mates and see wales playing a quarter—final. how noisy is it going to be for the wales time? oh, it will be tremendous. it will be right up there. it's such an important match for us. as for england, well, they'll also start as favourites against fiji on sunday. but after a stuttering tournament so far, can they rise to the occasion? they've got players that have been to world cup finals. they've won trophies, european trophies, premiership trophies. they have the players in the camp.

we just haven't seen the best of them yet. maybe they'll leave it to the quarter—final. all the signs, then, point to an enthralling weekend, but the home nations will be hoping their world cup journey is far from over. andy swiss, bbc news, marseille. hosts france against south africa on sunday night to round it all off. while in france, it's mostly all about the rugby union, the south west and perpignan will be changing their big screens and fans zones to follow the rugby league and the super league grand final at old trafford where catalan dragons, based in perpignan, will aim to become the first french side ever to win the competition. it'll also be the final game in a glittering career of their star player, sam tomkins. the former england captain will continue to live in the south of france after he retires tonight, and it's fitting for his finale

that he will be up against his former club, wigan warriors, who many of his mates support. could not have predicted an ending like this. getting here is amazing. it is not the dream ending, the dream ending as winning here. i have played a lot of games for wigan and have a lot of friends at the club. to be able to share my last game with those guys on the biggest stage is an amazing opportunity. one match to tell you about at the cricket world cup, bit of a big one. india taking on pakistan in front of a massive crowd — the stadium in ahmedabad holds over 130,000. india won the toss and put pakistan into bat. they passed the 100 mark a short time ago thanks to their captain babar azam. they're currently 122—2. --123-2.

no pakistan fans allowed in the stadium. 130,000 indianfans cheering on. we'll have more on the israel gaza war later in the bulletin. but let's turn our attention briefly to australia, where a proposed constitutional amendment on an indigenous voice to parliament has been rejected. voters in the historic referendum were asked whether indigenous people should be acknowledged in the country's constitution. the referendum proposed setting up a body provisionally known as the voice, to advise government and parliament on matters relating to aboriginal and torres strait islander people. our correspondent in sydney, katy watson, had more details on the vote. this was an expected result but the leaders of the yes campaign are now coming out, saying they are devastated by the result. we are yet to hear from the no camp but certainly this was expected. it was a referendum brought by the prime minister and he said this would be a referendum that

did notjust define how australia saw itself, how the world saw australia, so certainly a lot of reflection here in australia after what has been a very bitter and divisive campaign at times. talk us through that because it has been described as a bruising campaign by many people. talk us through it. it was a referendum that was called to try to unite australia and many people would argue that it did just the opposite. those who wanted the referendum to pass said this would empower indigenous communities, where there were huge disparities when it comes to health and wealth and education and this was seen as a way to try and address some of these key issues. but the no vote, it was split but there was a large proportion of the no voters who felt this was a divisive proposal, it would cause divisions in the country, that it would give a lot of rights to a certain group, a particular group of australians.

there were also indigenous communities who felt this did not go far enough so certainly it was a campaign that saw australia split. the former england cricketer turned tv presenter andrew flintoff has reached a financial agreement with the commercial wing of the bbc — bbc studios — after he was involved in a crash while filming the hit motoring programme, top gear, last december. the settlement is reported to be £9 million. the democratic unionist leader sirjeffrey donaldson will address his party's annual conference today. he's expected to focus on his talks with the westminster government about the ongoing political crisis in northern ireland. the dup has blocked the formation of a power—sharing devolved government for more than 18 months, over its opposition to post—brexit trading arrangements.

this day with us here on bbc news. —— as i could do stay with us. we'll be back with the headlines at top of the hour. time now for a deeper look at the ongoing conflict in israel and gaza. a warning that you may find some of the content in this report upsetting. an attack on israel that no—one saw coming. thousands of rockets fired. we start with a fast—developing story in the middle east, where a barrage of rockets has been fired from the gaza strip. israeli civilians killed in cold blood, hostages dragged away, and a deadly israeli response. explosions.

all in seven days that shook and shocked the world. saturday, the 7th of october, 2023. a barrage of rockets begins just after dawn. fired from gaza into israel by the palestinian militant group hamas, they have an immediate and devastating impact. this barrage provides cover for hamas fighters to cross the perimeter fence into israeli territory. hamas releases these pictures apparently showing observation towers being attacked by drones. here, they capture an israeli tank near the barrier. then they use a bulldozer to smash their way through. supporters pour through the opening, some with motorbikes, many more on foot.

the israeli defenders clearly had no idea the attack was coming. just miles away, hundreds of people gather at a music festival. what appear to be rockets fly overhead. you might have seen these images posted on social media showing people running for their lives. witnesses say that after rockets were fired, palestinian gunmen began attacking from several directions. "don't kill me, don't kill me," noa argamani pleads, as she and her boyfriend, avinatan or, are both taken captive. they are still missing, thought to have been taken inside gaza. later, noa's father spoke to israeli media. translation: i asked to see the video, and then i saw - that it was definitely her.

she was so scared, so frightened. i always protected her, and at this very moment, i couldn't. noa is 25, with a passion for travel. she had been messaging a friend just before she was kidnapped, and then the live location ended. also taken from the festival, shani louk, a tattoo artist from germany, pictured here on holiday in mexico. her family recognised her in a video of palestinian gunmen celebrating her capture in a pick—up truck. the images are too graphic to show. on the road next to where the festival was taking place, this footage from the day after shows burnt—out vehicles. we don't yet know what happened to all of those who came in these cars to party and celebrate,

but there were shellshocked reunions with those who survived. and, as more videos of hostages taken into gaza emerge, israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, makes this statement. translation: since this morning, j the state of israel has been at war. our first objective is to clear out enemy forces that infiltrated and restore the security and quiet to communities that have been attacked. the second objective, at the same time, is to exact an immense price from the enemy within the gaza strip too. the leader of hamas watches the unfolding news from overseas. he promises to expel israelis from their land. translation: we are on the verge of a great victory and a clear- conquest on the gaza front. what we see next is immediate retaliation from israel.

warplanes hit several buildings in the centre of gaza city. this is what israel calls its mighty vengeance on hamas. among the many targets in gaza, the jabalia refugee camp. and as night falls on day one of this war, gaza is hit again and again. the question millions of israelis are asking — how hamas had managed to carry out the biggest attack on civilians in the history of the state of israel. the barrier between gaza and israel is part concrete wall and part fence. it's watched over by israeli troops,

cameras and ground motion sensors. but hamas militants were able to cross into israeli territory in at least seven places, according to israel's military. fighters swept out of gaza in several directions to carry out attacks at 27 locations, seemingly with orders to kill on sight. day two, and israeli troops are still hunting down armed palestinian militants. among those killed, an israeli family shot dead, waiting to be identified and buried. more details about hostages are emerging, like this 85—year—old grandmother, yaffa adar, who was whisked away

by militants in a golf cart. families are kidnapped as well, among them yoni's wife and their five and two—year—old daughters. hello. i want to ask of hamas, don't hurt them. don't hurt little children, don't hurt women. if you want me instead, i am willing to come. from israel's government comes a warning. the country faces a long and difficult war ahead. this horrific terror act demands a forceful, determined and sustained response. well, they have said that they are still working very intensively in these areas in southern israel, around these communities. they have said that they have special forces in these areas, and they are doing everything they can to find hamas militants

who may be hiding here. these pictures of israeli missiles landing in gaza are being filmed by a bbc team on the ground there. as i have said, hamas is using offices in this building to perform some terrorist activity. elsewhere in gaza, many civilians are killed. people living in this tightly populated area have nowhere else to go. israel keeps saying the blockade and repeated assaults on gaza are to destroy hamas military capabilities and ensure security. clearly and expectedly, its blockade and assaults accomplished neither.

and the risk of escalation becomes clearer as hezbollah militants in neighbouring lebanon fire rockets into israel. they say it is a show of solidarity with palestinians. monday 9 october, israeli towns are still under attack. there is a huge barrage going on overhead just at the moment. we have taken cover. this is actually a memorial building. you can see we are all here. there is nick — he has our camera. yes, we're going to move. we heard them all around us, but they didn't know we were there. when the siren started, i was talking to gilad. he had been at the music festival

where more than 250 people were massacred as hamas launched its attack on saturday morning. shrapnel tore past his head. he was lucky to survive. the bullet went through here and here. yes, you can see it went in and out. yes, you've got a fight—or—flight situation. we need to react very fast, or that means you are dead. it is certain death. it's no wonder 250 people, 260 people died — and even more, i still don't know the body count. people living in ashkelon know these moments of fear well. gilad and his mother didn't need words. we followed the smoke. we think this is where one

of the missiles hit. yes, look, here on the ground. in this part of ashkelon, there aren't bomb shelters in most buildings. thin walls and windows don't stop missiles, so this family hit in a stairwell. they told the children the explosions were thunder. "we need to be strong for them," avi told me, "but who is going to take care of us?" at the same time, inside gaza, it looks every bit as if palestinians are feeling the full force of israeli military power. israel declares a siege, completely cutting off water and power supplies from its territory, and its retaliation for the hamas attacks has onlyjust begun. palestinian armed groups, undeterred, keep up their own

barrage of attacks against israel and threaten to kill israeli hostages. but israel's airstrikes roll on, hour after hour. as you can see, the israeli air strike just hit this area. we had to move from our office. this is a residential building where i live. it's a very densely populated area. i have been covering many wars between hamas and israel, but this time, and this day especially, i think it's the biggest ever israeli air strike that targeted gaza. it's still day three, and israel is moving more firepower closer to gaza. a ground offensive against hamas looks increasingly likely, larger than any since the group took over the territory in 2007. one soldier who has already lost his life is londoner nathanel young.

at his funeral injerusalem, his sister starts to pay tribute. i watched him grow from a cheeky little boy, to a strong, brave man. but then this. sirens. mourners take cover as explosions ring out. some recite prayers. as day three of the israel—gaza war comes to a close, there are displays of solidarity with israel around the world. landmarks are illuminated in israeli colours. from new york to buenos aires and london, jewish communities

and their supporters are taking to the streets. chanting: free palestine! some protesters in london, as well as other cities around the world, give support for hamas and the palestinian cause, galvanised by events in gaza. the origins of the current violence stretchback more than 100 years, decades of division over land considered home and holy tojews and muslims as well as christians. the state of israel, the onlyjewish majority country in the world, has been locked in conflict since its creation in 19118. around 2 million israeli arabs, many of whom prefer to be called palestinian citizens of israel, make up a fifth of the country's population. the majority of palestinians live in gaza and the west bank, as well as in neighbouring jordan, syria, and lebanon.

the gaza strip is only 25 miles long and six miles wide. israel controls its airspace and shoreline and restricts who and what goods are allowed in and out over its land crossings. egypts controls its own crossing with gaza. the west bank and eastjerusalem, under international law, are considered occupied territories. gaza is run by hamas, a palestinian islamist militant group which is designated a terrorist organisation by many western governments, including the uk. it has sworn to destroy israel. the war between israel and the gaza—based palestinian militant group hamas is intensifying as it enters its fourth day. new and disturbing details emerge about saturday's attack. israeli troops enter a kibbutz, orfarm community, called kfar aza,

close to gaza's boundary. what they find is evidence of a massacre by hamas. women and children, including babies, were among the dead. some victims say the troops had been decapitated. they havejustjihad mission to kill everybody, without weapons, without nothing, just normal citizens going to take their breakfast and that's all. and they cut some of their heads. it is a difficult thing to see. another officer says the woman under this cover was among those decapitated, killed in herfront garden. even for experienced soldiers, fighting their way in had been hard going. how difficult was the fighting? you cannot imagine.

have you ever had to do anything like this before as a soldier? no, not like this. what happens next, what do you do next? what does israel do next? i don't know. i do what they tell me to do, i will do. i hope we will go inside. into gaza? yes. that will be tough. yes. we are ready for it. more details emerge about the israelis taken hostage in the music festival attack. a 12—year—old and 16—year—old were taken by gunmen from a house nearby. they phoned their mother as it was happening as she explained to one of our bbc correspondents. and then they said they hear someone breaking in and walking in the house.

about ten minutes later i heard people speaking in arabic outside the door, the door opened and they could hear my youngest. that was the last time that i've heard from them. those barbarians took kids out of their houses and out of their beds and just kidnapped them, keeping them hostage. almost half of these are things for a baby... not far away from the festival site, we met one of the volunteers bringing supplies to local people affected by the violence. people on the other side, what are they saying, what are you seeing? it's difficult. it's really, really hard. it's really hard. i'm 23 years old. i saw things i should never see in my life. i saw things that i learned about in the holocaust, it is a massacre. they killed a lot of people.

in gaza, entire neighbourhoods are being flattened by israeli airstrikes. israel is accused of breaking the laws of war, which it denies, saying it's only targeting hamas, and not civilians. there are fears about a new humanitarian crisis unfolding inside the territory. very quickly, if we can see the scale of destruction in this neighbourhood, it is the economic hub for gaza. israel have carried out 200 airstrikes targeting the hamas infrastructure. in fact, they hit many buildings, government buildings belonging to the hamas run authority, but look at the scale and destruction in the area and how civilian homes were completely affected and some of them were completely destroyed. with the violence unfolding on the ground, a us aircraft carrier,

the largest in the world, heads for the eastern mediterranean. good morning, it is wednesday 11 october. israel's defence minister says its military is now moving towards a full—scale offensive against gaza. day five. there's new concern about the humanitarian catastrophe growing in gaza. the territory's only power station has stopped working and fuel is running out. children were playing here, where they should be sleeping. what is this? this is not a life. basic services like hospitals are close to collapse. the health system was on its knees to begin with. we are already short of consumables, we already short of medication, of equipment.

unless there is a humanitarian corridor, unless aid is brought in, the diesel that operates the generators that the hospital depends on is going to run out. new satellite images show the level of destruction in gaza. this was the al—karama area before the airstrikes and this is the same neighbourhood after coming under attack. new accounts emerge about life under a barrage of airstrikes. the family are gathering altogether, also in a place far away. explosions. i was trying to explain things, but i think you can hear them now. in southern israel, there is a visit by britain's foreign secretary and his israeli counterpart.

we are living close to monsters, to inhuman people, we are fighting for our all and we will win. are you considering a humanitarian corridor? i'm not going to speculate. minutes later, they're bundled towards a bomb warn of an incoming rocket attack. in the north of israel, thousands of extra troops are being deployed to reinforce the country's border with lebanon. when i look out here i can see the wall that divides northern israel and lebanon and just this morning, there has been an exchange between the two sides. hezbollah fired an anti—tank missile into northern israel and in response israeli war planes struck a piece of hezbollah infrastructure on the lebanon site.

there is real anxiety that these regular exchanges that are happening could lead to a deadly escalation just on this hilltop over here. injerusalem and across the country, the biggest mobilisation of army reserves in israel's history gathers pace. some arrived from around the world. this man is 28 and lives in austria. he has left behind a wife and two young children. there is nothing more important right now, not myjob, not my studies, not everything, not even my family, only ourjob and only what we are doing here. this is more important than your family? unfortunately, we are currently in a situation where i have to say that. i didn't even imagine i would ever say something like that. another fighterjet. that is the second one.

i didn't think i would say something like that ever. that there is something in the world that is more important for me than my family, but, unfortunately, the reality has changed and here we are. there are tearful goodbyes as reservists head off to serve their country. it's eight o'clock on thursday 12 october. the headlines this morning — the united nations says almost 340,000 people have been forced from their homes in gaza by israeli airstrikes. day six, shortly after dawn, israel bombs another apartment block in gaza. it's in a refugee camp. residents say many had fled there, trying to get to safety. "they bombed without warning," says this man. "this is murder. "everyone has to do something.

many are wounded. but hospitals now depend on generators after israel's siege cut the power. food and clean water running out. israel says there will no supplies until its hostages are freed. in israel, cctv from saturday's attacks shows hamas fighters entering kibbutz be'eri. homes there were completely burned out. this one belonged to vivian silver. she has been missing ever since. her son is searching and remembering. what do you think your mother would be saying about everything that's happening right now? that this is the outcome,

this is the outcome of war. vivian was making light of it until she couldn't. "we may be witnessing a massacre. "enough sense of humour, i'm just telling everybody, "telling you i love you." and i write back, "i love you, mum." she writes "they are in the house now." i said "i have no words. "i am with you. she writes, "i feel you." and that was it. that's the last message. on a visit to tel aviv, america's top diplomat tells israel that washington's support is unwavering. you may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as america exists, you will never, ever have to. we will always be

there, by your side. friday, day seven. the un says it's been told by israel that everyone in northern gaza must relocate to the south in the next 2a hours. it would mean the entire population of gaza city and its surroundings — about 1.1 million people — having to flee their homes. the hamas—run interior ministry has called on gazans not respond the order to move, calling it psychological warfare. after a week at war, there is no sign of an end to the crisis. millions of israelis, palestinians, and others are reflecting on events that few saw coming and no—one will ever forget. israelis are shocked and they are grieving,

because what they have seen are the most unimaginable scenes of brutality and horror with these massacres that have been carried out. they've had to bury loved ones. there are families that still don't know where their children are because they are being held hostage in gaza. and then in the strip you have palestinian civilians who are living under bombardment, they are seeing death and destruction all around them every day. there's no electricity and the water and food are running out. everything has been turned upside down. this last seven days has shocked the world and now people are asking, what's next?

hello again. you may have noticed already it is much colder out there this morning compared to recent days. we've had cold air oozing in from the north throughout the night and you can see from the air mass picture, all of us under the influence of this colder arctic air. so, over the weekend, noticeably colder — the first proper autumn chill. and with that, there will be some sunshine as well. quite windy conditions towards north—eastern areas in particular. still some gales affecting the far north—east of scotland. those should tend to ease off later in the day. we will see some sunny spells, those showers coming in on that north—westerly wind, particularly around northern and western areas but they will drift their way into the south—east of england as well during this afternoon. bear in mind that yesterday we got to 21 celsius. this afternoon, 11—14, it will be only 5 or 6 celsius in the north—east. with that, some wintry showers as well. overnight, we could still see some

snow accumulating over the higher ground of scotland. some showers coming down the irish sea into parts of wales, where again there could be some winteriness over the higher ground. and look at that! overnight tonight into tomorrow morning, a frost expected across northern england, into scotland, perhaps even a local frost around southern areas as well. but it should be a lovely, sunny start to sunday, crisp sunshine to start off the day. further showers coming in across northern areas of scotland, one or two around the irish sea but, generally speaking, fewer showers around on sunday, so a drier day with that sunshine. lighter winds as well. but again, those temperatures, 10, 11 celsius. if anything, that is below the average for the time of year. into next week, higher pressure dominates at least for a time, so i think on monday again it will be quite a chilly start to the day but there will be plenty of dry weather with some sunshine. gradually, throughout the week, temperatures will start to rise. but, as we go through into sunday night, you can see clear skies once

again, still further showers coming in across the far north of scotland into monday morning. overnight temperatures once again down to about 1—3 celsius. once again, there will also be a local frost as we start off the new working week. and through monday, plenty of sunshine again, into tuesday as well. later in the week, you notice those temperatures do creep up a little bit, 13—15c. there will be some showers cropping up as well. bye— bye.

live from london. this is bbc news.

the un says — tens of thousands of palestinians have left their homes — for the south of gaza — as israel extends the deadline for over a million people to get out. israel's army says, it's already launched raids inside gaza. they say, a senior hamas commander has been killed by an air strike. diplomacy intensifies — the us secretary of state is in saudi arabia — which says — it's suspended talks on normalising ties with israel. this is the scene live in gaza — as israel continues to build up military personnel and hardware for a major ground incursion. hello, i'm mattthew amroliwala. more on those headline stories in a

moment. let's start by bringing you these latest pictures we've just