US continues diplomatic push as Arab nations demand Gaza ceasefire

BBC updates:

THE US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to visit Turkey later, as he continues his diplomatic push.

He's been working with leaders in the region on a so-called humanitarian pause. President Joe Biden suggested there had been some progress on the issue.

But Arab countries have been demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The US warns this would allow Hamas to regroup.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 30 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the al-Maghazi refugee camp - the Israeli military says it is investigating.

The UN says there are nearly 1.5 million displaced Gazans - and its facilities in the south are over capacity and no longer able to accept new arrivals.

Israel began bombing Gaza after Hamas killed more than 1,400 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 200 others.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 9,400 people have been killed in the Strip since 7 October.

Israeli military says 2,500 targets struck since start of ground operations

THE Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has given a morning update, saying its ground, air and naval forces have struck "more than 2,500 terror targets" since the beginning of its ground operations in Gaza.

Overnight, it says Israeli troops directed aircraft to strike a Hamas military compound, which it says contained "command and control centres, observation posts, and additional terrorist infrastructure".

It says Israeli troops are "continuing to eliminate terrorists" including in "close-quarter combat".

We're still trying to build up a picture of military action overnight, but as we've been reporting, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 30 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp - and Israel says it is investigating whether its forces were operating in the area at the time.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 9,400 people have been killed in the Strip since 7 October, when Israeli began bombing the enclave in retaliation for the deadly attacks on 7 October, in which Hamas gunmen killed 1,400 people and took around 240 hostage including women, children and elderly people.