live from london, this is bbc news. israel says it has "shifted phases in the war", as it hits 150 targets in gaza overnight and releases video it says shows its tanks entering the territory. translation: the ground forces entered and continued expanding| the ground force operations. infantry, engineering and artillery are accompanied by heavy gunfire. our correspondent on the ground, rushdi abualouf, says the bombardment in northern gaza is on an unprecedented scale. for the first time ever they have seen this scale of explosion, huge black, huge fire in the sky. this is the scene live in gaza, where the israeli army has reissued its call for civilians to move south. israel's defence minister will meet the families of israeli

hostages held by hamas, who are expressing concern about the intensifying attacks on gaza. and right now we are striking from the air every single day when we do not know where my cousin is, where we do not know where over 200 hostages are and we don't know if any of our bombs have killed them. here in london, pro—palestinian demonstrators turn out in force. these are live pictures. protests are also planned in other capital cities. fresh aid enters gaza and the un tells the bbc they've managed to re—establish some contact with their teams on the ground. hello and welcome to bbc news. israel's defence minister says the country's military has "shifted phases in the war" and that its operation will continue "until further notice".

his comments followed the intensification of the israeli military operation against hamas. it said air attacks overnight hit 150 underground targets, and killed several senior hamas commanders. hamas, which is a proscribed terror organisation by the uk, us and many other nations, says it is engaging israeli troops. israel has again warned people in the north of gaza to head south, saying their "window to act was closing". as the israeli operation unfolded, a bbc correspondent in gaza reported a huge bombardment in northern gaza, which he said was on an unprecedented scale. he described scenes of panic and chaos, as communication lines were cut across the terrority. that bombardment continued later into the day as israeli artillery also attacked from outside northern gaza. international aid agencies say they are struggling to contact their teams inside the strip.

although, in the past hour, the un has told us it has managed to get in touch with its people there. the world health organization said it could not reach its staff and health facilities — it appealed to anyone with authority to press for a ceasefire, to act now. relatives of more than 200 israelis held hostage in gaza have expressed alarm at the intensification of the fighting. a forum representing hostages and missing families demanded an immediate meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his defence minister to discuss their safety. the lack of communication means we don't yet have numbers of those killed in the night—time operation. the hamas—run health ministry says 7,650 people have been killed there since the war began. about 1,400 israelis were killed by the hamas attacks three weeks ago. let's start with this report from tom bateman.

wave upon wave of israeli air strikes have pounded gaza. the military calls these massive significant attacks as its ground troops entered the territory. palestinians report an unprecedented level of bombardment while virtually all communications for nearly 2.5 million people appear to be cut. here, residents rushed the wounded hospital by themselves as people say they could not call ambulances. paramedics in the darkness simply drove towards explosions. palestinian telecoms companies say the outage was caused by the air strikes. the israeli army hasn't commented on that. we have lost contact with our staff on the ground in gaza, communication lines are still down across gaza and we are incredibly terrified about the situation, especially after the heavy bombardment that was reported last night in gaza and it has been said

that it is on a scale never seen before. the israeli military says its forces entered the northern gaza strip, calling it an expansion of its ground operations to eliminate hamas. it has said it has killed commanders overnight, including one of the leaders of the october 7th massacres against israel. hamas said it was fighting israeli forces on the ground. israel called these targeted attacks against specific hamas positions and its network of tunnels below gaza city. translation: last night, the ground forces entered | and continued expanding the ground force operations. the idf is continuing with its evaluation in an ongoing way, continuing massively with air strikes and also the sea. meanwhile, hamas continued to fire rockets toward southern

israel this morning. and families of some of the more than 220 people being held hostage by hamas say they have spent the most terrible of all nights, fearing the ground operation could endanger them. whether this amounts to the full—scale land assault some expected isn't clear, the israeli army is calling this a limited invasion. what we do know is the attacks are intense but with communications out in gaza, most palestinians can't tell the world what is happening to them. this war has entered a new phase. three weeks on from the deadly attacks when hamas stormed israel and killed moo people, almost 8000 palestinians have now been killed, say doctors in gaza. the international calls for a ceasefire are going unheeded and the fighting only intensified. tom bateman, bbc news, jerusalem.

israel's military has reissued a call for palestinians to evacuate the northern gaza strip. let's take a listen. attention, citizens of gaza. listen carefully. this is an urgent military advisory from the israel defence forces. for your immediate safety, we urge all residents of northern gaza and gaza city to temporarily relocate south. let me repeat, we urge all residents of northern gaza and gaza city to relocate south immediately. this is a temporary measure. moving back to northern gaza will be possible once the intense hostilities end. hamas puts your life in danger by placing weapons and forces within civilian areas in gaza, including schools, mosques and hospitals. the impending idf operation is set

to neutralise these threats of hamas with precision and intensity. humanity remains haunted by the massacre unleashed by hamas on october the 7th, a massacre of innocent lives — israeli men, women, children and babies were beheaded, executed, raped and burnt alive. we will not forget that. and the kidnapping of over 200 israelis, we will not forget. to the residents of northern gaza and gaza city, your window to act is closing. move south. for your own safety, move south. this is not a mere precaution, it is an urgent plea for the safety of the civilians in gaza. we can go live now to our diplomatic correspondent paul adams who's injerusalem.

as we shift phases according to israel's military, your assessment of what we were just listening to? i think that's a note of urgency was very marked, wasn't it? i think it was the sternest, strongest, perhaps most impassioned warning from the israelis we have seen so far and i think it is also the first time that they have said that when this is over you can go back. this is obviously addressing the fears that many palestinians have witches if they leave their homes they will never go back to them. —— that many palestinians have that if they leave their homes. i think that was a noticeable addition to his remarks. as to how long this latest operation will go on, the defence minister has said the operation will continue until further notice and he referred to the fact they have accomplished a

phase in the war so clearly the israelis feel they are doing something slightly different now. whether this is something that will continue in the coming days we do not know or whether they feel they have somehow accomplished something, we also don't know that. the have somehow accomplished something, we also don't know that.— we also don't know that. the attack b hamas we also don't know that. the attack by hamas was _ we also don't know that. the attack by hamas was unprecedented, - we also don't know that. the attack by hamas was unprecedented, the | by hamas was unprecedented, the response is unprecedented, but also the situation with the hostages is unprecedented. i the situation with the hostages is unprecedented.— unprecedented. i think this is really interesting, _ unprecedented. i think this is really interesting, matthew. l unprecedented. i think this is i really interesting, matthew. the pressure, the sense of pressure on the government is mounting day by day, it is really palpable. there is another demonstration going on in tel aviv today. as you already mentioned, the relatives are demanding to meet with the prime minister and defence minister, that meeting we believe is going to place later this evening and if i could just read you from a statement put out from the hostages and missing

families, we are tired of slogans they say, that our loved ones time is running out and they have been held in appalling conditions for three weeks, some winded and every additional hour could be a death sentence. we expect clear answers on how to bring the hostages home. those are really strong words and i do not think the prime minister can ignore that, the sense that both among israelis but also among a number of foreign governments, including the united states, they really, really want the israeli government to do whatever it takes to bring hostages home and there are some people with a lot of experience of dealing with gaza who say we should be pausing now, we should stop the fighting now to allow an opportunity to get the hostages out. that does not mean we will not return to the fight eventually, but just for now, that should be priority number one.- just for now, that should be priority number one. paul adams there in jerusalem, _ priority number one. paul adams there in jerusalem, thanks - priority number one. paul adams there in jerusalem, thanks very l there injerusalem, thanks very much. the bombardment in gaza is

continuing, i wasjust the bombardment in gaza is continuing, i was just looking at the corner of my eye, another plume of smoke and we have seen the intensification of this over the last 2a hours. that is the skyline, you see the clouds of smoke as they have been through the course of the last little while as israel moves phases and our correspondent telling us just what that was like and at the same time communications are cut off, but we were able to finally reach our correspondent earlier in gaza who used a satellite telephone to communicate with us. have a listen to this. for about 13, ia hours, gaza is without communication, without internet and without a mobile signal. the palestinian health ministerjust issued a statement saying that about 400 people were killed overnight in the israeli air strikes in the north. israel said they have expanded their operation, especially in gaza city and in the north.

here there were many air strikes overnight with about 20 people killed and about 15 targets around this area and around the camps. people are really worried since israel has cut all communication, people cannot communicate with their relatives, with their friends in gaza city and the north, and people are really in panic. i saw people in the streets today, less people in the streets than yesterday. people are afraid of the next stage of the operation, they believe that cutting the communication, this is the first time ever since hamas took over gaza and for wars before, we haven't seen israel cutting the communication with gaza. the humanitarian situation is also getting worse and worse with israel not allowing food and medicine. i've seen people struggling to find water. here in the hospital, people are struggling to find fuel to run the generators and work

in the hospital. the medical crews are struggling, the ambulance services have almost shut down since the morning, they say we do not know where to go and how to communicate with the people. after an air strike they wait for any news from the people on the ground, and then they move quickly to the scene and back with casualties to the hospital, so it's a really catastrophic situation. 0ur correspondent there on the ground in southern gaza. the reuters news agencyjust reporting a couple of comments from hamas saying they are recruiting from beirut where we saw one of their leaders give a press conference a couple of days ago saying we reject the does placement of the people of gaza into egypt's sinai peninsular and going on to say they call for the immediate

limitation of the un general assembly decision last night to allow aid into the gaza strip, is a couple of lines coming out from reuters news agency. juliette touma is from the united nations relief and works agency — or unrwa. she told me how difficult it's been for the agency to keep in touch with staff in gaza. we have only one line of communications with our director who is currently in the south of the gaza strip, but even that is a bit patchy. however, in the past few minutes, while i was waiting to go on this live, we managed to re—establish some contacts with what we call area officers, this is our teams who are spread around the gaza strip, so that is good. and we have had of course, because of the telecommunications collapse, to reduce some of our operations as of this morning. lots of areas you touch on.

just in terms of what those staff members have been telling you, what they have gone through, what it is like overnight and this morning, because you have already lost so many staff on the ground over the last three weeks, give me an idea, a picture of what they are describing to you. so yes, you are right. unrwa has lost 53 of our colleagues and they were killed inside the gaza strip, since the 7th of october, and the numbers are what we could confirm but they are likely to be much higher, especially amid the heavy bombardment and air strikes overnight. our staff, many of them have been displaced themselves. many, however, continue to be out there to respond to the needs especially in the shelters where unrwa is hosting more than 600,000 people in 150 other shelters. i know it's very difficult, but are you hearing anything

about casualty numbers overnight? and what is the rough figure you have in your mind of roughly how many people are still in the north, the area that is now coming under attack that the israelis have told people to leave? for your last question, i do not have this information, unrwa does not have this information, and on the casualty figures, because of the telecommunications collapse, we were not even able to get an update on the number of casualties that are likely to be among our staff, so the number still stands as of yesterday at 53, but very likely that it's going to be much higher, i'm afraid. a spokesman there from unrwa talking to me earlier today. let's go to the military situation, the strategy on the ground. live now to colonel richard kemp, a former commander of operations in afghanistan,

who at the moment is observing the conflict unfold from israel. thank you very much for being with us. what have you made of the last 24 hours? i us. what have you made of the last 24 hours? ~ , , ., 24 hours? i think it signifies a step change _ 24 hours? i think it signifies a step change in _ 24 hours? i think it signifies a step change in the _ 24 hours? i think it signifies a step change in the war - 24 hours? i think it signifies a step change in the war that i 24 hours? i think it signifies a. step change in the war that has 24 hours? i think it signifies a - step change in the war that has been going on for three weeks now. and what we saw with the increased bombardment yesterday of the cutting off communications and the announcement that the idf moving and force into gaza, i think that suggests at least the early stages of ground effects, we have seen a number of raids in recent days into gaza from israeli armed forces and special forces. gaza from israeli armed forces and specialforces. this gaza from israeli armed forces and special forces. this latest phase might well represent the beginning of a sustained operation or it might be an operation of integration in which the idf carry out attacks and then return back out of gaza. it is very hard to say which way it is going to go and of course quite rightly the idf will not tell us about what they are planning because

operational security in war is obviously paramount.- operational security in war is obviously paramount. operational security in war is obviousl aramount. , ., obviously paramount. yes, from where ou are, obviously paramount. yes, from where you are. are — obviously paramount. yes, from where you are. are you _ obviously paramount. yes, from where you are, are you getting _ obviously paramount. yes, from where you are, are you getting any _ you are, are you getting any indication of the sort of area? we note the gaza strip is such a limited size, 28 miles or so, but in terms of the area they went into overnight, roughly what size, what proportion of that territory did they actually enter? it is proportion of that territory did they actually enter?— they actually enter? it is not ossible they actually enter? it is not possible to _ they actually enter? it is not possible to say _ they actually enter? it is not possible to say that - they actually enter? it is not possible to say that until - they actually enter? it is not l possible to say that until they they actually enter? it is not - possible to say that until they tell us, but it certainly appears to have been aimed predominantly towards the northern part of gaza. how far they went in so far and how far they are planning to go in, it is very difficult to say. for the same reason as i mentioned before, they are clearly very concerned about operational security. 0ne are clearly very concerned about operational security. one thing i would say is that in war, deception and surprises paramount and whatever we are seeing, the idea of doing now

and the most recent incursion into gaza, i think there are things going on elsewhere as well that they are not even mentioning, possibly in connection with notjust the destruction of hamas but also trying to rescue some of the hostages. let's tent exactly that issue, we are looking at pictures from southern israel, looking into gaza and of course the skyline still with so much black smoke from the continued operations. you talked about the hostages, we think that some certainly are being held in that tunnel complex, because the 85—year—old that was released only last week was talking about the spiders web. tell us a little more, because overnight they told us 150 underground tunnels were hit. describe a little more to us what that complex is actually like. right, | that complex is actually like. right, i have been into some of the tunnels that run underneath gaza and

effectively they are known as the gaza metro and it is a network of hundreds of kilometres of tunnels underneath most of the gaza strip but particularly focus in the north and they use those to provide protection for their terrorists but also to move weapons and equipment around and move terrorists about the place as well. so for example when the idf launched into gaza they could attack them from the rear or the side. they are a very tunnel complex. they have air conditioning and electricity inside them and that is obviously important for the survival of the terrorists inside and i think it is almost certain, as you rightly said, that at least some of the hostages will be kept in those tunnels which of course is doubly difficult to rescue them if they are even located. [30 doubly difficult to rescue them if they are even located.— doubly difficult to rescue them if they are even located. do you think it is possible _ they are even located. do you think it is possible militarily _ they are even located. do you think it is possible militarily to _ it is possible militarily to actually rescue hostages if they are

in this tunnel complex? yes. actually rescue hostages if they are in this tunnel complex? yes, myself, i have in this tunnel complex? yes, myself, i have been — in this tunnel complex? yes, myself, i have been involved _ in this tunnel complex? yes, myself, i have been involved in _ in this tunnel complex? yes, myself, i have been involved in hostage - i have been involved in hostage rescue operations in relation to both afghanistan and iran and i'm talking now about maybe two or three people, so even that was highly complex and very difficult, depending on precision intelligence and up—to—date intelligence about their locations and the conditions they are being held in, what sort of terrorists are there etc. even that was fraught with absolute complexity. the idea of being able to locate and rescue 220 is almost an unfathomable task. i'm sure the idf will have the best go they can but i'm afraid the chances of rescuing all of them in my view is pretty slim. i rescuing all of them in my view is pretty slim-— pretty slim. i was hearing one anal sis pretty slim. i was hearing one analysis that _ pretty slim. i was hearing one

analysis that suggested - pretty slim. i was hearing one analysis that suggested those j analysis that suggested those appeals, and we had another today for people to get out of the north, is the original hope was that basically the northern parts of the gaza strip would be vacated from civilians and then they could work militarily much more easily on the ground. that kelly has not happened, there are upward of 400,000 people still to the north of the wadi gaza and that makes all of these military calculation so much more difficult, doesn't it, in terms of civilian casualties? it doesn't it, in terms of civilian casualties?— doesn't it, in terms of civilian casualties? it does, it contains very much _ casualties? it does, it contains very much what _ casualties? it does, it contains very much what the _ casualties? it does, it contains very much what the idf - casualties? it does, it contains very much what the idf can - casualties? it does, it contains| very much what the idf can do. casualties? it does, it contains - very much what the idf can do. and the last thing the idf want to do is kill hostages or to kill innocent civilians and it will act as a bit of a brake on what the idf does and i do not think there was any expectation really that all civilians would go, but the more that leaves, the easier the task for the idf in terms of identifying

terrorists and getting rid of the terrorists, but it is a very dangerous situation for civilians. quite a few civilians i think have been killed in the air operation and ground force operations involving tanks, artillery, infantry on the ground are much more of a blunt instrument and i think there is a much higher risk that civilians will be killed in the course of these operations, despite the fact that the idf i think probably art world leaders in measures to try and prevent the loss of innocent civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talkinu civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talking to _ civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talking to us. _ civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talking to us. thank _ civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talking to us. thank you. - civilians on the battlefield. thanks for talking to us. thank you. that | for talking to us. thank you. that is the military strategy. we will hear about the hostages a little more in a few minutes' time. let's turn to the demonstrations. demonstrations have been taking place around the world to call for a ceasefire and for aid to be allowed into gaza. in london, thousands of people marched in support of the palestinians, urging an end to israel's attacks in gaza. the metropolitan police said large

crowds started to form on saturday afternoon in central london near goldenjubilee bridge, embankment, whitehall, strand, westminster and waterloo bridge. there, as you see from our helicopter pictures, just huge crowdsjoining helicopter pictures, just huge crowds joining those demonstrations. joining us now on the line is our correspondent chi chi izundu. just tell us a little about where you are and what is happening around you. you are and what is happening around ou. , �* , , ., ., you. yes, i'm 'ust my parliament 5: uare you. yes, i'm 'ust my parliament square where— you. yes, i'm just my parliament square where you _ you. yes, i'm just my parliament square where you may _ you. yes, i'm just my parliament square where you may be - you. yes, i'm just my parliament square where you may be able i you. yes, i'm just my parliamentj square where you may be able to you. yes, i'm just my parliament - square where you may be able to hear in the background jeremy corbyn has just taken to the stage and he has been talking to the crowds gathering here all afternoon. they have been basically chanting stop the war in palestine, they have been asking for a ceasefire, they have been demanding that rishi sunak and keir starmer also make public calls for a ceasefire in palestine. there has been an incredibly peaceful protest,

people have walked along embankment and across waterloo bridge, we have had a few fireworks but effectively it has been children, families, basically marching along by the palestinians calling for a ceasefire for what is going on in gaza. irate palestinians calling for a ceasefire for what is going on in gaza. we are lookin: at for what is going on in gaza. we are looking at the _ for what is going on in gaza. we are looking at the helicopter _ for what is going on in gaza. we are looking at the helicopter pictures i looking at the helicopter pictures as it makes its way and finds all of those people you have been describing. give us a little sense around security and those sorts of issues. i around security and those sorts of issues. ., around security and those sorts of issues. . , ., ., , issues. i mean, there is a heavy olice issues. i mean, there is a heavy police presence _ issues. i mean, there is a heavy police presence here, _ issues. i mean, there is a heavy police presence here, as - issues. i mean, there is a heavy police presence here, as you - issues. i mean, there is a heavy| police presence here, as you can imagine. there are a lot of police that have marched alongside us and guarded various parts of the route. earlier on this afternoon, we saw that police had surrounded a smaller group of protesters because they were protesting on something

completely different and were clashing with some of the protests but it was just an exchange of words, they kept them separate, they have been guarding some of the statues in whitehall, but essentially they are just here to remind people that they have a root and the time to be here. the security presence has been very peaceful as well. they have not been any other incidents, other than that earlier coming together of different protests along whitehall.— protests along whitehall. thanks very much- _ protests along whitehall. thanks very much- its — protests along whitehall. thanks very much. as we _ protests along whitehall. thanks very much. as we continue - protests along whitehall. thanks very much. as we continue to - protests along whitehall. thanks i very much. as we continue to watch these pictures, we will keep an eye on that protest. we have seen those sorts of protests in london over the last two saturdays but a huge turn out there on the streets today. i wanted to end this half hour by

showing you the pictures in turkey. a massive demonstration there. turkey's president addressing that huge rally. he has been saying in the last little while, and it fits with some of the things he has been saying through the course of the week which have been really sharply aimed at israel, but today in istanbul he said to this crowd hamas is not a terrorist organisation but you, israel, the occupier. he said the west is the main culprit behind what is happening in gaza. so again at strong words from president erdogan addressing that those pro—palestinian demonstrators there in turkey. we will have more on today's headlight here on the programme and also get the latest here on the hostage situation. do not go away, you are watching bbc

news. hello. if you can see any blue sky overhead right now, do bear in mind it may not last, because rain continues to feature in our forecast for the rest of the weekend. and for some, quite a lot of rain. on our earlier satellite image, you can see clumps of shower clouds circulating around an area of low pressure. and then this stripe of bright white cloud pushing its way in from the south, bringing a band of heavy, thundery rain, squally gusty winds. could be a lot of rain in a short space of time across southern counties of england, up into parts of wales. it will be quite blustery here, particularly through the english channel. also windy up towards the north and the east of scotland. some outbreaks of rain here. quite a few showers across parts of northern ireland. still some spells of sunshine and temperatures, if anything, a touch above the average for the time of year — 11—16 celsius. tonight, this band of heavy rain drives its way northwards, there will be plenty of showers elsewhere. northern ireland looks like turning

quite wet for a time. some clear spells too, it stays quite blustery, in fact the wind really pick up across north—eastern scotland and low pressure remains firmly in charge through tomorrow. showers circulating around below and this weather front becoming very slow—moving across parts of scotland. so through tomorrow, across england and wales, northern ireland too, we will see some sunny spells, quite a few showers, some really heavy, thundery ones again down towards the south—east of england, but for scotland, for eastern parts of scotland particularly, we are expecting heavy and persistent rain. some places could see in excess of 100mm of rain, especially up over higher ground, so that could well give rise to some further flooding. combined with very strong winds, gusting up to 50—60mph, those winds actually could bring big waves and some coastal flooding along that east coast. temperatures again generally between 10—15, maybe up to 16. things turn just a little bit quieter, but it's only a subtle difference,

into the start of the new week. and then later in the week, we're keeping a very close