IDF forces say they are targeting Hamas ‘in a certain part of the Shifa hospital’ after Gaza’s health ministry said it was warned by Israel that it would raid the facility ‘within minutes’

• Israel and Palestine: a complete guide to the crisis

Israel’s military has said that it again will open a corridor for people to move south within the Gaza Strip from 9am (7am GMT) to 4pm, and will also pause hostilities for a limited period of time between 10am and 2pm “in the neighbourhoods of al-Daraj and al-Tuffah”.

The message implores residents of Gaza “Please, for your safety, join the hundreds of thousands of residents who have moved south in recent days,” adding: “Residents of Gaza, do not surrender to Hamas, which has lost control over the northern Gaza Strip area and is trying to do everything it can to prevent you from moving south and protect yourselves.”

Staff say they fear rising numbers of deaths at hospital on third day without power, and with shooting and bombing outside

• Israel-Hamas war – live updates

Dozens of corpses lay on the courtyard outside Gaza’s largest hospital, covering the ground next to a blue refrigerated truck that had long ceased to be able to keep the bodies cool. Most of the bodies were shrouded in colourful blankets originally meant for the living, after the hospital ran out of white bodybags. A severely burnt arm protruded from one of the blankets. Elsewhere, according to video footage seen by the Guardian, the charred body of a child was visible among the soft folds of the material.

“We are under siege,” said Munir al-Boursh, a doctor who is also a Palestinian health ministry undersecretary, speaking from inside Dar al-Shifa hospital. The facility had intended to dig a mass grave until Israeli tanks and snipers encircled the the complex on Friday, making movement around it impossible.

Health officials say patients dying due to energy shortages as fighting between Israel and Hamas intensifies

• Israel-Hamas war – live updates

Israeli forces have reached the gates of Gaza’s largest hospital as hundreds of patients, including dozens of babies, remained trapped inside.

Thousands of people have fled al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, but health officials said the remaining patients were dying due to energy shortages amid intense fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas militants.

This blog is now closed.

• See all our Israel-Hamas war coverage

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) has published to its Telegram channel additional details of what it claims are its anti-terrorist operations in Al-Shati camp in the northern Gaza Strip.

It says that over the past 24 hours, “soldiers killed numerous terrorists and uncovered a large number of terrorist infrastructure in the area”.

During one of the battles with the terrorists, IDF troops identified civilians who were located in a building in the area. The IDF secured an evacuation route for the civilians, and as the civilians were evacuating, terrorists fired at the troops from the outskirts of the area. In order to protect the evacuation route, IDF troops responded with light weapons fire and tanks to kill the terrorists.

In another engagement, IDF troops identified a terrorist cell barricaded inside a house in the area and posed a threat to the forces. IDF troops directed an aircraft and fired at the terrorists, killing the terrorists. In addition, following an identification of an anti-tank missile launched from a weapons storage facility inside a building, a fighter jet struck the source of the fire.

Israel justifies attacks saying they are on Hamas bunkers and infrastructure in the area but the assault comes with diplomatic risks

• Israel-Hamas war – live updates

Establishing control over al-Shifa hospital is a key Israeli objective for military and political reasons. The sprawling complex dominates the centre of Gaza City, where Hamas has much of its administrative infrastructure, and is close to the main north-south road that runs along the coast.

Destroying the ability of Hamas to govern Gaza is one of the stated aims of the Israeli offensive.