Israel-Hamas war live: Joe Biden says Gaza and West Bank should be ‘reunited’ under Palestinian Authority; reiterates call for two-state solution

In Washington Post on Saturday, Biden writes: ‘After this war is over, the voices of Palestinian people … must be at the center of post-crisis governance’

A Tanzanian citizen missing since the 7 October raid by Hamas militants on southern Israel has been confirmed dead while a second remains unaccounted for, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dar Es Salaam said.

In a statement issued late on Friday, it said the family of farming student Clemence Mtenga had been notified of his death and talks were under way on repatriating his body. Searches continue for the second Tanzanian, Joshua Mollel, it added.

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More than 100 pro-Palestine rallies to take place across UK, say organisers

Groups behind ceasefire protests attended by hundreds of thousands say local action will replace London march this week

Organisers of the pro-Palestine marches that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to London’s streets have planned smaller action in villages, towns and cities rather than holding a national march in the capital this Saturday.

More than 100 pro-Palestine events demanding a ceasefire in Gaza are due to take place across the UK.

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IDF evidence so far falls well short of al-Shifa hospital being Hamas HQ

Footage to date fails to prove Gaza complex was nerve centre for attacks on Israel, as military has claimed

Israel-Hamas war – latest updates

Prior to their capture of Dar al-Shifa hospital, the Israel Defense Forces went to great lengths to depict the medical complex as a headquarters for Hamas, from where its attacks on Israel were planned.

The evidence produced so far falls well short of that. IDF videos have shown only modest collections of small arms, mostly assault rifles, recovered from the extensive medical complex.

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Foreign Office failing to help Liverpool teacher stuck in Gaza, says husband

Feiz Chihaoui says he was told wife Islam Alashi, Palestinian national with a visa to remain in UK, not entitled to help to leave

The husband of a teacher from Liverpool who is stuck in Gaza has criticised the Foreign Office for failing to help his wife reach safety.

Islam Alashi, who teaches English as a second language, travelled to Gaza in September to visit family. She has been stuck there amid Israeli bombardment since the conflict with Hamas began on 7 October.

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Israeli forces ‘determined to advance’, says military – as it happened

Daniel Hagari’s comments come amid mounting concerns about Israeli plans to expand military operations where people have sought refuge from fighting

The Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, has urged leaders of developing nations to unite in the face of growing challenges due to the Israel-Hamas war as he convened a virtual summit of more than 100 countries.

“This is the time when the countries of the global south should unite for the greater global good,” Modi said in a speech, referring to developing nations.

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Collapsed hospital operator NMC Health misled markets over £3.2bn of debt, says watchdog

FCA censures former FTSE 100 company but stops short of a fine as no funds are expected to be left

The financial watchdog has found that collapsed hospital operator NMC Health committed market abuse by understating its debts by as much as $4bn (£3.2bn).

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) censured the former FTSE 100 company on Friday for misleading the market but stopped short of fining it as no funds are expected to be left at the business once outstanding debts to creditors are paid out.

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UN warns of Gaza starvation as concerns rise about safety in the south

Israeli military expansion seen as likely alongside acute shortages of of food and water

The UN has said Gaza’s civilians face the “immediate possibility” of starvation, amid mounting concerns about Israeli plans to expand military operations in parts of the south where people have sought refuge from fighting.

Fuel shortages on Friday halted aid shipments and blacked out communications across the strip. The UN said its trucks could not move and it could not coordinate deliveries. Palestinian network operators said they could no longer power the phone and internet systems.

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Israel kills Hamas militants in Jenin raid as violence surges in West Bank

Hamas says three fighters died, while Israeli military says it killed at least five, as tensions rise

Israeli security forces have mounted a major raid in the city of Jenin, destroying roads and killing between three and five Hamas militants in the latest instance of surging violence across the occupied West Bank.

Hamas said three of its fighters died in the overnight raid, which began late on Thursday night and lasted about eight hours. Israeli military officials said their forces had killed at least five.

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Local action to replace London march for Palestine this week, say organisers

Groups behind ceasefire protests attended by hundreds of thousands say there will be events across UK

More than 100 pro-Palestine events demanding a ceasefire in Gaza are due to take place across the UK this weekend, but there will be no large-scale national march in London, according to organisers.

Organisers of the pro-Palestine marches that have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to London’s streets have planned smaller action in villages, towns and cities rather than holding a national march in the capital this Saturday, citing the challenges of coordinating weekly national protests and growing support across the country. The next large national march in central London would be held on 25 November, they said.

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Israel says body of hostage recovered near al-Shifa hospital

Yehudit Weiss, abducted from Be’eri kibbutz by Hamas, found dead in building next to hospital after raid

The Israeli military has recovered the body of an Israeli hostage from a building near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, as soldiers continued to search the hospital complex after Wednesday’s early morning raid.

Yehudit Weiss, a 65-year-old woman, was abducted from the Be’eri kibbutz by Hamas militants during their attack on southern Israel on 7 October, in which at least 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 taken hostage. She had been undergoing cancer treatment.

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Dozens arrested in San Francisco after ceasefire protest shuts down Bay Bridge

Demonstration by about 200 people urging Gaza ceasefire shut down commuter route and formed a human chain between cars

Dozens of protesters were arrested on Thursday after shutting down a portion of the San Francisco Bay Bridge as part of a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The protest blocked all westbound traffic on the bridge – a key commuter route into the city that sees roughly 260,000 vehicles daily – as San Francisco hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum. The city has seen numerous demonstrations in response to the forum from activists decrying corporate profits, environmental abuses and the Israel-Hamas war.

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IDF says it has found Hamas tunnel shaft at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza

Israeli military also claims to have uncovered a vehicle with weapons belonging to the group

The Israeli military said late on Thursday that it uncovered a Hamas tunnel shaft and a vehicle with weapons at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital complex.

“In the Shifa hospital, IDF [Israel Defense Forces] troops found an operational tunnel shaft and a vehicle containing a large number of weapons,” the military said.

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EU foreign affairs chief tells Israel not to be ‘consumed by rage’ in response to Hamas attacks

Josep Borrell says ‘one horror does not justify another’ and calls for unconditional release of hostages

The EU foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, has urged Israel not to be “consumed by rage” in its response to the Hamas attacks of 7 October as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, acknowledged splits in Europe on the conflict.

Speaking from Kibbutz Be’eri – where at least 85 of the 1,200 people killed that day died and from where about 30 of the more than 240 were kidnapped – Borrell said “Israel must be defended”, but, “one horror does not justify another: innocent civilians, including thousands of children, have died in recent weeks.

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Tensions build behind the scenes between US and Israel over Gaza

Western officials continue to ask searching questions about future strategy as diplomatic pressure mounts

US wasn’t always Israel’s strongest ally – what changed and why?

On the surface, Joe Biden gave Israel a clear green light to continue its military campaign in Gaza on Wednesday night, and endorsed its claim that Hamas has been using the al-Shifa hospital as a command and control headquarters.

His remarks in San Francisco after a meeting with Xi Jinping will delight Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

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Israel drops leaflets warning people to flee southern Gaza towns

Flyer campaign raises fears war could spread to areas IDF previously said were safe

Israel has dropped leaflets into southern Gaza telling Palestinian civilians to leave four towns on the eastern edge of Khan Younis, raising fears that its war against Hamas could spread to areas it previously said were safe.

The flyers told civilians in Bani Shuhaila, Khuza’a, Abassan and al-Qarara that anyone in the vicinity of militants or their positions was “putting his life in danger”, local people told Reuters.

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Israel-Hamas war live: UN agency says no aid deliveries into Gaza from tomorrow; Gaza hospital completely shut down, announces director

All communications are down in Gaza because of lack of fuel, UNRWA says; Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza has been completely shut down

Thai Muslim politicians said they had received assurances from Hamas that all of the Thai hostages being held would be among those released if mediators succeed in brokering a truce in Gaza, Reuters reports.

The Islamist militants took an estimated 240 people hostage on 7 October, and Thailand’s foreign ministry says 25 Thais were among those abducted, and 39 were among those killed that day.

Any ceasefire either three days or five days … Hamas will release hostages, including all Thais being held, which they promised.

This could be in less than 10 days or in the next two to three days.

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Joe Biden issues strident defence of refusal to call for ceasefire in Gaza

US president says Hamas has said it will not stop attacking Israel and said Israeli forces had switched from aerial bombardment to more targeted operations

Joe Biden has presented an unapologetic defence of his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, arguing that Hamas presented a continuing threat to Israel and that Israeli forces were seeking to avoid civilian casualties.

After a summit meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Apec summit in San Francisco, Biden told reporters on Wednesday night that Hamas had pledged to continue its attacks on Israel.

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‘Disgusted and horrified’: protesters in LA stage sit-in urging for Gaza ceasefire

More than 1,000 people gather in the rain, shutting down a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard

Hundreds of demonstrators in Los Angeles shut down a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon in a protest demanding Joe Biden and US lawmakers call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

In the heart of Hollywood, along the palm tree-lined streets near Ripley’s Believe It or Not! and the Walk of Fame, protesters waved Palestinian flags and held signs – “not in our name” and “let Gaza live”. More than 1,000 people gathered in the rain, including a group that staged a sit-in at the intersection with flowers in hand and shirts reading “Jews say ceasefire now” as tourists watched.

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UN security council backs resolution calling for humanitarian pause in Gaza

Resolution calls for release of hostages held by Hamas and for humanitarian corridors across the Gaza Strip

Six weeks after the start of the war in Gaza, the UN security council has come together to back a resolution calling for “urgent extended humanitarian pauses for [a] sufficient number of days to allow aid access” to the embattled territory.

The vote late on Wednesday overcame an impasse which saw four unsuccessful attempts to adopt a resolution.

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Israel-Hamas war: Israel launches strikes on Hezbollah-linked sites in Lebanon – as it happened

This blog has closed. You can read all our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war here and our latest full report here

Here is the Israeli announcement from early on Wednesday morning announcing that it was carrying out an operation inside al-Shifa hospital.

The IDF said on its english-language account on X:

Operational Update: IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa Hospital, based on intelligence information and an operational necessity. The IDF is conducting a ground operation in Gaza to defeat Hamas and rescue our hostages. Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the civilians in Gaza.

The IDF forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians being used by Hamas as human shields.

In recent weeks, the IDF has publicly warned time and again that Hamas’ continued military use of the Shifa hospital jeopardizes its protected status under international law, and enabled ample time to stop this unlawful abuse of the hospital.

Yesterday, the IDF conveyed to the relevant authorities in Gaza once again that all military activities within the hospital must cease within 12 hours. Unfortunately, they did not.

The IDF has also facilitated wide-scale evacuations of the hospital and maintained regular dialogue with hospital authorities. We call upon all Hamas terrorists present in the hospital to surrender.

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