Fierce fighting in Gaza as more civilians set to leave

BBC updates:

GAZA has witnessed fierce fighting overnight - with a live feed capturing sounds of explosions and bright flames on the horizon.

The Israeli military says it's killed dozens of Hamas fighters - having earlier said its troops had broken through its enemy's defensive lines.

More civilians are expected to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing today; 400 people used the crossing yesterday for the first time since the war broke out.

Responding to a heckler during a speech, US President Joe Biden said there had to be a "pause" in fighting to facilitate the release of Hamas's hostages.

The BBC World Service is launching an emergency radio service for Gaza on MW 639kHz, daily at 1500GMT from Friday.

Israel has been bombing Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 people, with 239 people kidnapped as hostages.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 8,700 people have been killed since Israel's retaliatory bombing began.