Israel will allow essential humanitarian supplies of food, water and medicine to enter Gaza through its border with Egypt at the request of US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday. Biden, who arrived in Israel early on Wednesday, has said data provided by the US Department of Defense shows that Israel was not behind a deadly strike on a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
This blog is no longer being updated. For more coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, please click here.
12:05am: Biden to address US on Israel-Hamas war, Ukraine
US President Joe Biden will give a primetime speech on Thursday about the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House said Wednesday.
Biden will speak at 8 pm (0000 GMT) in the Oval Office, from which presidents have traditionally addressed the nation at times of critical national importance.
12:02am: UK's Sunak heads to Israel Thursday, then region, says Downing Street
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Israel on Thursday before heading to other countries in the region in an effort to deescalate the Israel-Gaza conflict, his office has said.
"The attack on Al Ahli Hospital should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict," Sunak said in a statement.
"I will ensure the UK is at the forefront of this effort."
10:36pm: Biden says Egypt's Sisi has agreed to open Rafah crossing for 20 trucks
President Joe Biden on Wednesday said Egypt’s president has agreed to open a border crossing into Gaza to allow in 20 trucks with humanitarian aid.
Biden said he spoke with Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after his visit to Israel, where leaders there agreed to allow the aid in.
"Sisi deserves some real credit because he was accommodating," Biden told reporters.
Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip, stopping all entry of food, water, medicine, and fuel to its 2.3 million people following the Hamas attack on October 7.
White House officials said the aid would flow in the coming days. Biden said if Hamas confiscates the aid, “it will end”.
9:52pm: Lebanon's Hezbollah says two members killed on Wednesday
Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday that two of its members were killed in southern Lebanon while "they were engaging in fighting", the group's Telegram channel said.
9:43pm: US block on Israel-Hamas resolution a 'failure' for UN Security Council
The US on Wednesday blocked a UN Security Council resolution condemning Hamas’s attacks on Israel and urging humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The US said it vetoed the resolution to better enable successful diplomacy during President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East. The US was also reportedly unhappy with the wording of the resolution.
"The United States is disappointed this resolution made no mention of Israel's rights of self defense," US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote.
The US veto dashed the hopes of other council members.
"This is seen by many here as a failure of the UN Security [council] to fulfil its mandate to ensure peace and security across the world," reported FRANCE 24's Jessica Le Masurier in New York.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 votes in favour, the United States against and Russia and the United Kingdom abstaining.
8:59pm: UN puts Gaza humanitarian aid need at 100 trucks per day
Gaza, reeling under Israel's massive response to Hamas's October 7 border incursion, needs around 100 trucks of humanitarian aid per day, a UN source said Wednesday.
"We need to start with a serious number of trucks going in and we need to build up to 100 trucks a day," the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told CNN Europe.
Griffiths said “detailed negotiations” between parties had helped to define what an aid programme in southern Gaza would entail, including the scale of deliveries needed and how to ensure aid could be delivered safely.
He said he hoped that the "essential programme of aid" could start within the next couple of days, noting the UN has some 14,000 staff in the strip to help with distribution.
Tonnes of aid are currently blocked in the Sinai desert with the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side closed following four bombardments this week. Israel said on Wednesday it would start allowing some aid to pass into Gaza through the Egypt border crossing.
8:34pm: Timeline unclear over Gaza aid deliveries through Egypt border crossing
FRANCE 24's Cairo correspondent Eduard Cousin spoke on Wednesday about some of the obstacles still standing in the way of the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza through Egypt's Rafah border crossing.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would let limited amounts of food, water and medicine into the besieged enclave through the border with Egypt. But the timeline for those deliveries remains unclear, Cousin said.
"A complication here is that the border posts have been shelled a few times," he said. "There's damages to the Palestinian side of the border that need to be repaired for trucks to go through and go in."
8:23pm: Israel-Lebanon border clashes increase amid fears that tensions could 'spiral'
Clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border are increasing amid growing concerns that Israel's war with Hamas could spread if Lebanon's Hezbollah were to intervene in northern Israel.
Border clashes "appear to be growing in intensity", FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar reported from Deir Hanna in northern Israel. "They're happening on a daily basis," he said.
Some 28 border towns have been evacuated in Israel, with more expected to follow.
"[There are] big fears here that things could spiral," Hilliar said.
7:59pm: Forced displacement of Gazans is 'red line', says Palestinian leadership
Forced displacement of Gaza residents is a red line that cannot be crossed, the Palestinian leadership said in a statement after a meeting in the West Bank City of Ramallah on Wednesday.
The statement said the Palestinian leadership considered the idea of the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip "a red line that we will not allow to be crossed, just as the displacement of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem or the West Bank should not be allowed".
7:20pm: EU fears destabilisation from disinformation amid Israel-Hamas war
The EU expressed concern Wednesday about the growing dangers of disinformation for the bloc, as Brussels urged member states to coordinate faster to tackle illegal content online about the Israel-Hamas war.
The war between Israel and Hamas has left thousands of dead on both sides. There has also been a flood of gory content online, sometimes falsely identified.
"The widespread dissemination of illegal content and disinformation linked to these events carries a clear risk of stigmatisation of certain communities, destabilisation of our democratic structures, not to mention the exposure of our children to violent content," said the EU's top tech enforcer, Thierry Breton, during a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
The European Commission has already launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X to determine if it has allowed the spread of illicit content – the first procedure under the EU's landmark Digital Services Act that will apply to all digital services from February 2024.
But the commission on Wednesday urged the 27 member states to coordinate faster to to stop the spread of illegal content.
6:49pm: Jordanian police clash with protesters near Israeli embassy
Jordanian police on Wednesday said several anti-riot police were injured during clashes that broke out with rioting protesters near the Israeli embassy, who were torching property.
The authorities had earlier deployed riot police to disperse thousands of demonstrators planning to march on the heavily fortified Israeli embassy to protest against Israel's military assault against Gaza.
6:43pm: Biden says 'errant rocket' fired by 'terrorist group' hit Gaza hospital
US President Joe Biden said Tuesday that an "errant rocket" fired by a "terrorist group" caused a devastating explosion at a Gaza hospital that left hundreds dead.
"Based on the information we've seen to date, it appears as a result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza," Biden told reporters at the end of a short trip to show solidarity with Israel after the October 7 Hamas attacks.
6:32pm: Anger among West Bank protesters after Gaza hospital strike
Hundreds of Palestinian protesters took to the streets in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, blaming Israel for a strike on a hospital Gaza that killed hundreds.
"There is a distinct sense of anger here with the local population," FRANCE 24 journalist Luke Shrago reported from Ramallah in the West Bank. "Police were out in some force and some scuffles and clashes [are] still going on."
Israel has denied responsibility for the blast, instead blaming rocket fire by Palestinian militants.
5:28pm: UN Mideast envoy warns spillover risk 'very real and extremely dangerous'
The United Nations Middle East peace envoy warned the Security Council on Wednesday that the risk of expansion of the conflict between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip is "very real, and extremely dangerous."
"I fear that we are at the brink of a deep and dangerous abyss that could change the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not of the Middle East as a whole," said Tor Wennesland, addressing the 15-member body via video from Doha.
5:09pm: US imposes sanctions on 10 members of Hamas
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a group of 10 Hamas members and the Palestinian militant organisation's financial network across Gaza, Sudan, Turkey, Algeria and Qatar in response to the surprise attack on Israel that left more than 1,000 people dead or kidnapped.
Members who manage a Hamas investment portfolio, a Qatar-based financial facilitator with close ties to the Iranian regime, a Hamas commander and a Gaza-based virtual currency exchange are among the entities sanctioned.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US “is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children”.
“The US Treasury has a long history of effectively disrupting terror finance and we will not hesitate to use our tools against Hamas," she said in an emailed statement.
4:59pm: US analysis shows Israel not responsible for hospital explosion, says White House
A US analysis of currently available data indicates that "Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday," a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council said on Wednesday.
The assessment is based on the United States' analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open source information, NSC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a post on X, adding that the United States is continuing to collect information.
4:45pm: Israel to allow aid into Gaza via Egypt, PM office says
Israel would let aid enter Gaza via Egypt, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced Wednesday, saying only "food, water and medicine" would be allowed into the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
Humanitarian supplies will not be able to enter the enclave from the Israeli side of the border.
"In light of (US) President (Joe) Biden's demand, Israel would not foil the supply of humanitarian aid via Egypt," the prime minister's office said, announcing a cabinet decision.
The statement noted that aid to civilians in the southern Gaza Strip would be allowed "so long as these supplies do not reach Hamas", which rules Gaza.
4:39pm: US vetoes UN resolution condemning Hamas's attacks on Israel and all violence against civilians
The United States vetoed a UN resolution Wednesday that would have condemned Hamas’s attacks against Israel and all violence against civilians and urged humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 votes in favour, the United States against and two abstentions (Russia and the United Kingdom).
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that President Joe Biden is in the region engaging in diplomacy “and we need that diplomacy to play out”. She also criticised the resolution for not saying anything about Israel’s right to self-defense.
Before the vote on the resolution sponsored by Brazil, council members rejected two Russian amendments, one calling for a “humanitarian cease-fire” and the other condemning indiscriminate attacks on civilians and “civilian objects” in Gaza, which include hospitals and schools.
4:26pm: Biden says Israel will allow humanitarian aid into Gaza
US President Joe Biden said Israel will allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza strip and called for a two-state solution that would see Israel fortifying ties with its neighbours in the region.
Speaking to the press during a visit to Israel, Biden warned that Israel should avoid being consumed by “rage” and repeating “mistakes” made by the US in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.
“Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people … Palestinian people are suffering greatly as well,” Biden said, emphasising the need for life-saving humanitarian assistance to enter into Gaza on the condition that it is delivered to Palestinians, and not the Hamas group.
"Israel agreed the humanitarian assistance can begin to move from Egypt to Gaza," Biden said, adding that the United States was working with partners to get "trucks moving across the border as soon as possible".
Biden said the crisis had strengthened “determination” for a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine.
Biden also reiterated US support for Israel in the wake of the attacks by Hamas, and warned regional actors against getting involved in ongoing conflict. “We are going to make sure [Israel] has what you need to defend yourself and protect your people,” Biden said.
3:52pm: Biden says he asked Netanyahu "tough questions" during meeting
US President Joe Biden said he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "tough questions" during their meeting on Wednesday in Tel Aviv, where they also discussed humanitarian needs, security assistance and information on unaccounted Americans.
"I asked tough questions as a friend of Israel. We will continue to deter any actor wanting to widen this conflict." Biden said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
3:27pm: Drone attack on US troops intercepted in Iraq, heightening fears of a regional conflagration
Two suicide drones launched at a base hosting US troops in Iraq were intercepted Wednesday, a defense official said.
Hours later, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq announced it had launched another drone attack on a second base. No injuries were reported in either incident.
No group claimed responsibility for the first drone attack Wednesday. Tashkil al-Waritheen, another Iranian-backed militia, claimed responsibility in a statement for a second drone attack, which they said had targeted the al-Harir airbase in northern Iraq. US officials did not immediately comment on the claim of a second attack.
Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have threatened to attack US facilities over American support for Israel.
Following Tuesday night’s blast that killed hundreds at a hospital in Gaza, the the Kataib Hezbollah militia issued a statement in which it blamed the US and its support for Israel for the catastrophe and called for an end to the US presence in Iraq. “These evil people must leave the country. Otherwise, they will taste the fire of hell in this world before the afterlife,” the statement said.
3:25pm: Hundreds protest in West Bank after Gaza hospital strike
Palestinian protesters took to the streets in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, blaming Israel for a strike on a hospital in war-torn Gaza that killed hundreds.
Hundreds of protesters in Nablus, many draped in Palestinian flags and some holding Hamas banners, chanted slogans against Israel and its ally the United States. "Free, free Palestine," they chanted.
Others derided Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement is Hamas's rival and has been criticised by Palestinians over its collaboration with Israel. "Down, down with Abbas," they shouted.
An AFP correspondent in Nablus said Palestinian security forces fired tear gas at protesters as they marched out of the city centre.
3:19pm: Germany's Scholz vows action after Molotovs thrown at Berlin synagogue
Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed to fight anti-Semitism on German soil after attackers hurled two Molotov cocktails at a Jewish synagogue in Berlin early Wednesday.
Police in the German capital said they were probing the attack in the Mitte district of the city. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
The attack, at around 3:45am, comes amid a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the wake of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
"Attacks against Jewish institutions, violent riots on our streets – this is inhumane, disgusting and cannot be tolerated," said Scholz on a trip to Egypt. "Anti-Semitism has no place in Germany. My thanks go to the security forces, especially in this situation."
3:15pm: Death toll of French citizens killed in attacks in Israel rises to 24
The number of French citizens killed in the attacks by Hamas in Israel has risen to 24, said French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
Paris has repatriated 3,500 French citizens from Israel since the attacks on October 7, the prime minister added.
3:08pm: Biden says Pentagon data indicates Israel not responsible for hospital strike
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that the "other team", and not Israel, was responsible for the explosion at a Gaza hospital. He said this assessment was based on data shown to him by the US Pentagon.
Asked by reporters in Tel Aviv what made him sure that Israel was not responsible for the strike that killed hundreds on Tuesday, Biden replied: "The data I was shown by my defense department."
Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting earlier on Wednesday that he did not believe Israel was responsible for the deadly explosion at Ahli Arab hospital.
Israel has blamed the rocket strike on Palestinian militants.
3:07pm: Turkey to declare three days of mourning over Gaza hospital strike
Turkey will declare three days' mourning over a deadly strike on a hospital in war-torn Gaza that killed hundreds, a Turkish official told AFP on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a fervent supporter of the Palestinian cause, has accused Israel of "striking a hospital sheltering women, children and innocent civilians" and urged the world to stop the tragedy in Gaza.
"Turkey will declare three days national mourning," the official, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
Israel has said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which denied blame.
2:59pm: Egypt will not allow influx of refugees from Gaza, president says
Egypt's president said Wednesday he would not allow any mass influx of refugees from Gaza, saying it would set a precedent for "the displacement of Palestinians from the West Bank into Jordan".
"The displacement of Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt means the same displacement will take place for Palestinians from the West Bank into Jordan," said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
"Subsequently, the Palestinian state that we are talking about and that the world is talking about will become impossible to implement – because the land is there, but the people are not."
2:54pm: Israeli military says responding to shots fired along Lebanon border
Israel's military said it was responding to shots fired at its military posts in the area of Zar'it along the Lebanon border on Wednesday.
2:11pm: At least 7 British nationals have been killed since Hamas attack
At least seven British nationals have been killed and at least nine are missing since Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday.
"I can sadly confirm that at least seven British nationals have been tragically killed," the spokesperson told reporters.
"A further nine British nationals are missing, some of whom are feared to be among the dead."
2:11pm: Gaza health ministry spokesman says 471 Palestinians killed at Gaza hospital
Gaza healthy ministry spokesman, Ashraf Al-Qidra said in a statement on Wednesday that 471 Palestinians were killed and more than 314 wounded in what he called an "Israeli massacre", at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian officials have blamed an Israeli air strike for the blast at the hospital on Tuesday. Israel has said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which denied blame.
1:55pm: Gaza death toll rises to 3,478, says Hamas health ministry
At least 3,478 Palestinians were killed and 12,000 wounded in Gaza in Israeli strikes since October 7, the Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday in a statement.
1:32pm: Biden pledges solidarity with Israelis and suggests 'other team' to blame for Gaza hospital blast
President Joe Biden vowed to show the world that the US stands in solidarity with Israelis during his visit there Wednesday, and offered an assessment that the deadly explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital apparently was not carried out by the Israeli military.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting. But he said there were “a lot of people out there” who weren't sure what caused the blast, which sparked protests throughout the Middle East.
Biden didn't offer details on why he believed the Israelis were not responsible for the blast, and the White House did not immediately explain his assessment.
“The entire world was rightfully outraged but this outrage should be directed not at Israel but at the terrorists,” Netanyahu said during a subsequent meeting with Biden and Israel's war cabinet.
1:23pm: Biden says will work with Israel to spare civilians
President Joe Biden said Wednesday the United States would work with Israel to prevent civilian deaths as it pounds Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising to make efforts.
"We will continue to have your back. As you work to defend your people, we will continue to work with you and partners across the region to prevent more tragedy to innocent civilians," Biden said after meeting Netanyahu's war cabinet in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu renewed charges that Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and launched a deadly assault inside Israel on October 7, deliberately puts civilians near targets in the hope of using them as shields.
But Netanyahu told Biden: "As we proceed in this war, Israel will do everything it can to keep civilians out of harm's way.
"We have asked them and we'll continue to ask them to move to safer areas. We will continue to work with you, Mr. President, to assure that the minimum requirements are met," Netanyahu said.
12:27pm: US and Western countries that support Israel hold full responsibility for the war, says Hamas representative in Lebanon
Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, said on Wednesday during a press conference that the US and all Western countries that support Israel "hold full responsibility for the war against civilians in Gaza".
12:14pm: Putin calls Gaza hospital strike a 'tragedy'
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said a strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds was a "tragedy" and showed the need to bring the conflict between Israel and Hamas to an end.
"This is a terrible event ... I really hope that this will be a signal that this conflict needs to end as soon as possible," Putin said at a televised press conference on the sidelines of a summit in Beijing.
11:40am: Palestinian health minister in Ramallah says more than 3,300 Palestinians killed since October 7
At least 3,300 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,000 wounded since Israel began air strikes on the Gaza Strip on October 7, Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said on Wednesday.
11:39am: Iran calls for Islamic countries to sanction Israel
Members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should sanction and implement an oil embargo on Israel, in addition to expelling Israeli ambassadors, the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Wednesday according to a statement shared by Iran's foreign ministry.
An urgent meeting of the OIC was taking place on Wednesday in the Saudi city of Jeddah for Islamic countries to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
10:12am: Biden arrives on solidarity visit to Israel
US President Joe Biden landed in Israel Wednesday on a solidarity visit following Hamas attacks, under the shadow of a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital that has inflamed regional tensions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally welcomed Biden on the tarmac, putting his arms around the US president who then clasped his hands around Netanyahu in a sign of the newfound bond between the two leaders.
Under unusually tight security even for the US president, Biden and Netanyahu chatted briefly on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport surrounded by their guards before their motorcades set off for a Tel Aviv hotel where they will hold talks.
Hundreds of armed police and troops were stationed around the seafront Tel Aviv hotel where Netanyahu and Biden will meet, with armed snipers on the roofs of nearby villas.
10:05am: Gaza aid stuck in Egypt as Cairo blames Israel
Truckloads of aid bound for the war-torn Gaza Strip remained on the Egyptian side of the border Wednesday, as Egypt blamed Israel for not allowing it to reach desperate civilians.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry rejected as "inaccurate" claims that Egypt had kept the only border crossing with Gaza not controlled by Israel closed.
"As far as we're concerned, the Rafah crossing on our side is officially open," Shoukry told the BBC on Tuesday.
He said aid lorries were awaiting guarantees of "safe conditions" after the crossing was "subjected to four aerial bombardments that have made the crossing inaccessible".
In a separate interview with CNN, Shoukry said one of the strikes came as "we were trying to repair damage, and four Egyptian workers were injured".
Gaza has nearly run out of electricity, food, water and fuel, after 12 days of siege and air and artillery bombardment by Israel. FRANCE 24's correspondent in Cairo, Egypt, Eduard Cousin said in Eygpt, "they want to allow aid to go into Gaza, but they don't want [to let] a large number of Palestinian refugees into Egypt".
9:51am: Israel says has 'evidence' militants to blame for Gaza hospital blast
The Israeli army said Wednesday it had "evidence" that militants were responsible for the blast that killed hundreds at a Gaza hospital, saying a review proved others were at fault.
"The evidence – which we are sharing with you all – confirms that the explosion at the hospital in Gaza was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told a press conference in Tel Aviv.
The comments came after an explosion at a Gaza hospital compound on Tuesday evening killed at least 200 people, according to health officials in the enclave, sparking protests across the Middle East and wide-ranging condemnation.
"There was no IDF (Israeli army) fire by land, sea or air that hit the hospital," Hagari said.
"Our radar system tracked missiles fired by terrorists in Gaza at the time of the explosion and the trajectory analysis of the rockets shows the rockets were fired in close proximity to the hospital."
Following the blast, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which runs the territory, pinned the blame on Israel.
9:27am: Blinken calls Abbas to offer condolences for hospital deaths
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to offer condolences over a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital and voice support for Palestinians' "legitimate aspirations", the State Department said Wednesday.
Blinken, who was in Amman on a regional tour, spoke late Tuesday by telephone with Abbas "to express profound condolences for the civilian lives lost in the explosion" at the Ahli Arab Hospital, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
9:25am: Situation in Gaza 'spiralling out of control', says WHO chief
The situation in the Gaza Strip is spiralling out of control, the head of the UN health agency warned on Wednesday, following a blast at a hospital that killed hundreds of people.
"The situation in #Gaza is spiralling out of control," the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, formerly Twitter. "We need violence on all sides to stop."
"Every second we wait to get medical aid in, we lose lives," he added. "We need immediate access to start delivering life-saving supplies."
9:00am: Scholz 'horrified' by Gaza hospital strike, urges 'thorough' probe
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday called for a comprehensive investigation of a strike on a Gaza hospital compound which health officials in the impoverished enclave said killed at least 200 people.
"I am horrified by the images of the explosion in a hospital in Gaza. Innocent civilians were injured and killed," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "A thorough investigation of the incident is imperative."
8:59am: Fury in Beirut as Gaza hospital blast kills hundreds
"The atmosphere in Beirut is very tense, especially after what happend at the hospital in Gaza," said FRANCE 24's correspondent in Beirut, Rawad Taha. "Overnight we saw a number of protests targeting the US Embassy, the UNS headquarters, [...] the French Embassy, all condeming what has been happening in Gaza".
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement on Tuesday called for a "day of rage" to condemn the strike and specifically, for a "protest that should take place this afternoon at 2pm, in Beirut's southern suburb in Dahiya, where Hezbollah's headquarters are".
8:38am: Biden will be plunging into Middle East turmoil on his visit to Israel
US President Joe Biden will touch down in Israel on Wednesday in a diplomatic scramble to prevent the war with Hamas from spiraling into an even larger conflict, a challenge that became more difficult as outrage swept through the Middle East over an explosion that killed hundreds in a Gaza Strip hospital.
Biden was originally scheduled to visit Jordan as well, but his meetings with Arab leaders were called off as he was leaving Washington, costing him an opportunity for the face-to-face conversations that he views as crucial for navigating this fraught moment.
With his trip cut short, Biden will now meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet, first responders, victims' and hostages' families as well as President Isaac Herzog.
8:09am: In Gaza, 'nowhere is safe'
“The Ahli hospital in Gaza City was sheltering thousands of people,” said FRANCE 24's Andrew Hilliar, reporting from Deir Hanna in northern Israel. “The reality is that in Gaza, especially in the northern part of the territory – nowhere is safe for people and there could still be many more bodies under the rubble.”
7:39am: Russia says Israel should provide evidence it didn't strike Gaza hospital
Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that a strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians was a shocking crime, adding that Israel should provide satellite images to prove that it was not involved in the attack.
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Radio Sputnik that the attack was a shocking "dehumanising" crime.
7:14am: Rescuers still pulling bodies from the rubble of Gaza hospital
Al Jazeera carried footage showing a frantic scene as rescue workers scoured blood-stained debris for survivors. Rescuers and civilians were shown carrying away at least four victims in body bags. A Gaza civil defence chief gave a death toll of 300, while health ministry sources put it at 500.
5:50am: Guterres says Hamas attacks do not justify 'collective punishment' of Palestinians
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas did not justify the "collective punishment" of the Palestinian people.
The Hamas attacks on October 7 "cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people", Guterres told delegates at a forum of China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative in Beijing.
He also called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire".
"I call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to ... ease the epic human suffering we are witnessing," Guterres said at the same event.
5:45am: US issues 'do not travel' advisory for Lebanon
The US State Department on Tuesday raised its travel alert for Lebanon to "do not travel," citing the security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah.
The State Department authorised the voluntary, temporary departure of family members of US government personnel and some non-emergency personnel from the US Embassy in Beirut because of the unpredictable security situation in Lebanon.
For tens of thousands of families in Gaza, hospitals became a refuge from seemingly endless Israeli shelling. Then came the strike Tuesday night on Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza, which the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory said killed at least 500 people.
Residents who have been told to flee the north of the Palestinian territory had packed the courtyards and corridors of the territory's overwhelmed hospitals in the belief they were a safe haven from the Israeli bombardments. Read more here.
3:41am: Hundreds protest in Libya over hospital air strike
Several hundred people protested in Tripoli and other Libyan cities late Tuesday over the deadly strike on a Gaza hospital, according to AFP journalists.
In Tripoli, hundreds of demonstrators of all ages, brandishing Palestinian flags and some covering their faces with Palestinian keffiyehs, crisscrossed the streets of the city centre before converging on Martyrs' Square.
They chanted slogans of support for the residents of Gaza and denounced the strike by the "Zionist enemy". "We give our blood and our souls for Gaza," they chanted in Tripoli and similarly in Misrata, a city 200 kilometres west of the capital.
3:03am: Biden heads to Middle East despite cancelled summit with Arab leaders
Joe Biden will be traveling to Israel as he is expected to express support for the country as well as negotiate humanitarian aid for Gaza. FRANCE 24's Fraser Jackson has the latest from Washington.
1:38am: Islamic Jihad denies Israeli accusations, calling them 'lies'
Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad on Wednesday described as "lies" the Israel army's accusations that it was responsible for a strike on a Gaza hospital that left hundreds dead.
"The Zionist enemy is trying hard to evade its responsibility for the brutal massacre he committed by bombing the Baptist Arab National Hospital in Gaza through his usual fabrication of lies, and through pointing the finger of blame at the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine," it said in a statement.
"We therefore affirm that the accusations put forward by the enemy are false and baseless," it added.
1:18am: Biden 'outraged', calls on national security team to determine what happened
US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he was "outraged and deeply saddened" by a deadly explosion on a Gaza hospital, for which Hamas and Israel have traded blame.
Biden had "directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened", he added in a statement
1:13am: UN chief 'horrified' by Gaza air strike
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "horrified" by the deadly strike on a hospital in Gaza that left at least 200 people dead, he said in a social media post Tuesday.
"My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law," Guterres said in the message on X, formerly Twitter.
12:55am: Angry protests in front of French, British embassies in Tehran
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the British and French embassies in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday, an AFP correspondent said, as regional anger grows over a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital.
"Death to France and England," protesters shouted, throwing eggs at the walls of the French embassy compound in the Iranian capital.
12:07am: Biden summit with Arab leaders canceled after Gaza air strike
US President Joe Biden has postponed his visit to Jordan after a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital and will only go to Israel on his Middle East trip, the White House said Tuesday.
Biden decided after "consulting" with Jordan's King Abdullah II and "in light of the days of mourning" announced by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who was due at the summit along with Egypt's president, the White House said in a statement.
"The president sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded," the statement added.
12:03am: France's Macron says 'nothing can justify' targeting civilians
French President Emmanuel Macron said "nothing can justify targeting civilians" after a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital and called for humanitarian access to the coastal strip "without delay".
"Nothing can justify a strike against a hospital. Nothing can justify targeting civilians. France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital in Gaza which caused so many Palestinian victims. We think of them," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened without delay."
Key developments from Tuesday, October 17:
An air strike on the Ahli hospital in Gaza City has left at least 500 people dead, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Israeli Defence Forces have denied it was their rockets, blaming the Islamic Jihad instead. The United Nations, the African Union, and France have all condemned the air strike.
Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
