Israel says its troops have found the body of a second woman held hostage by Hamas, during a search close to Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza
- Noa Marciano, a 19-year-old soldier, was one of about 240 people kidnapped by Hamas gunmen during the 7 October atrocities, which killed 1,200 people
- Israeli forces raided Al-Shifa hospital earlier in the week, believing it to contain a Hamas command centre - something Hamas denies
- Meanwhile, the UN says a lack of fuel means that it can no longer bring aid into Gaza from Friday
- People there are facing the "immediate possibility of starvation" with winter fast approaching, the UN World Food Programme says
- Mobile phone and internet services are down because of the lack of fuel, Palestinian telecoms companies say
- Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted Israeli forces have not been "successful" in minimising civilian casualties in Gaza - but blamed Hamas
- More than 11,500 people have been killed in the territory since Israel began its retaliatory strikes, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Hamas is "endangering everyone, by embedding itself with civilians in hospitals, schools and civilian residences".
Speaking to the US News channel ABC on Thursday, Blinken was asked if he was confident that there were command centres in the tunnels under Al-Shifa hospital. He firmly said: "Yes."
He was also asked if the US supported Israel being in Gaza after the end of the war, and answered: "We don't."
Blinken continued: "There cannot be a re-occupation of Gaza by Israel. Just as Gaza cannot continue to be used as a platform to launch terrorist attacks.
"We should move forward where Palestinians have political rights and they have the ability to govern themselves in their own state."
Almost day by day, the tone of Israel’s allies is hardening.
Overnight, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel’s war cabinet. He said there was “an urgent need for affirmative steps to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, including by confronting rising levels of settler extremist violence”.
About 200 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied territory since the 7 October attack on Israel. Arab diplomats are concerned there could be an explosion of violence in the West Bank that could escalate the conflict.
Blinken called Egypt’s foreign minister and stressed “the importance of concrete steps to minimise harm to Palestinian civilians in all of Gaza”. He also called his Jordanian counterpart and voiced his “deep concern” at a strike on a Jordanian medical facility in Gaza.
All this after the US for the first time chose not to veto a UN resolution that failed to condemn Hamas.
And it's not just the Americans. Earlier this week, the British PM gave a speech warning that too many Palestinians were losing their lives. And yesterday, the French president repeated his call for a humanitarian ceasefire, saying Israel’s right to defend itself did not justify bombing civilians.
Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, has suggested his country has “two or three weeks” before international pressure for a ceasefire could become overwhelming.
The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) says almost the entire 2 million population of Gaza is in desperate need of food assistance, warning that civilians are facing the immediate possibility of starvation.
No WFP bakeries are operating any more due to a lack of fuel, and only a quarter of food shops are open, the agency says. The small quantities of food available at the shops are sold at alarmingly inflated prices.
A lack of fuel and electricity means cooking has become impossible for many. The lucky eat canned foods, but some are surviving on whatever raw ingredients they can find, including raw onions and aubergines, WFP says.
"There is no way to meet current hunger needs with one operational border crossing," McCain said, calling for another access point for aid to be opened.
The UN has said it is not able to use the one available crossing - at Rafah - to deliver aid today because of the lack of fuel and phone connections.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted to CBS that Israel had been "not successful" in its aim to minimise civilian casualties in Gaza - but blamed Hamas.
VIDEO OF THIS AND MANY MORE GAZA UPDATES AT: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67446662
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