Gaza communications cut again as Israel says 11 soldiers killed

BBC updates:

PHONE and internet services in Gaza are "completely cut", the provider Paltel says - the second blackout in a week.

Israel says 11 soldiers were killed in ground fighting in Gaza on Tuesday, taking the total killed since 7 October to 326.

Israel is also hitting Gaza from the air, saying more than 11,000 targets have been hit since the war began.

The IDF confirms it hit Jabalia in northern Gaza on Tuesday, where dozens of deaths were reported, saying it was targeting Hamas.

A live feed of the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt shows cars leaving the territory - earlier ambulances were allowed to enter from Egypt.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly says the Rafah crossing from Gaza to Egypt is "likely" to open today for some foreign nationals.

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 8,500 people have been killed since Israel's retaliatory bombing began.

Israel sends missile boats to the Red Sea

Yesterday, the rebel Houthis group in Yemen - hundreds of miles south of Israel - said it had attacked Israel three times with missiles and drones and would do so again.

Now, the Israeli military says its missile ships were deployed to the Red Sea yesterday to "strengthen the defence effort in the area".

In the early hours of Wednesday, the IDF said it "intercepted an aerial threat" in the Red Sea, south of the southern Israeli city of Eilat.