As it happened: Diplomacy fails to halt Israel-Gaza fighting

AFPCopyright: AFP

Gaza's hospitals are being stretched to collapse as a result of airstrikes, a doctor has told the BBC.

Health officials in the Gaza Strip are making urgent appeals for supplies, amid reports of power blackouts and sewage running on to streets.

The health system had already been struggling to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic before the conflict erupted last week, and how they are "suffering" further, Dr Mohammad Abu Rayya, a paediatrician, told the BBC's Newshour programme.

"The situation in Gaza is becoming worse and worse - the health system is being collapsed and stretched," he said.

"Day by day we receiving emergency cases, causalty cases, we are receiving dead bodies. We don't have a morgue big enough for the killed and dead bodies."

Earlier today, the head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called for health workers to be protected.

Google and MaxarCopyright: Google and Maxar

Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world, but why does it appear blurry on Google Maps?

The issue has been highlighted by researchers who use open-source, publicly available information - including mapping data - to locate attacks and document the destruction.

"The fact that we don't get high-resolution satellite images from Israel and Palestinian territories sets us back," said Samir, one of the investigators.

Read BBC Reality Check's full explanation of why this is.

US President Joe Biden says he is speaking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu within the hour, amid a flurry of diplomatic calls to try to end the crisis.

Asked if he would join other international calls for a ceasefire in Israel, president Biden said: "I will be speaking with the prime minister in an hour and I'll be able to talk to you after that."

US officials have held over 60 calls with Middle East counterparts aimed at de-escalating the violence, according to the White House press spokesperson.

They include National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaking to counterparts in Israel and Egypt and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Jordan and Tunisia.

Other countries are also trying to find a diplomatic solution. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says he's spoken to foreign minister in Jordan and Turkey to find an "urgent end to the violence".

BBC producer Rushdi Abualouf shares footage showing the aftermath of a deadly Israeli airstike that hit close to the BBC bureau in Gaza City...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his US counterpart Joe Biden has "bloody hands" because of his support for Israel.

He criticised the US president over US media reports that the Biden administration has approved a new $735m (£510m) arms sale to Israel.

"You are writing history with your bloody hands," president Erdogan said in a nationally televised address.

The Turkish president has been a vocal champion for the Palestinian cause during his 18 years in power.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The current flare-up of violence is the worst between Israel and Palestinians since 2014.

So what exactly happened back then?

After weeks of growing tension - which included the kidnap and murder of three Israeli teenagers - Israel launched Operation Protective Edge on 8 July, which it said was aimed at stopping rocket attacks from Gaza and destroying Hamas's capabilities.

Over the next seven weeks, Israel carried out thousands of air strikes and launched a ground operation to destroy tunnel networks in Gaza. Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel.

Eventually a truce was declared, brokered by Egypt. UN investigators said that 2,251 Palestinians died, of whom 1,462 were civilians, while on the Israeli side, 67 soldiers were killed along with six civilians.

A UN human rights investigation said there was evidence of "serious violations" by both sides.

EPACopyright: EPA

Speaking at the daily White House briefing, President Biden's spokesperson Jen Psaki has defended the US government's approach to the conflict.

The White House is coming under pressure from some in the Democratic Party to call for a ceasefire. Earlier today, a group of Democratic senators called for a ceasefire to "prevent further loss of life and further escalation of violence."

And as we reported earlier, the US blocked a UN motion that called for an end to fighting.

Asked why the US hasn't called for a ceasefire yet, Jen Psaki said that a lot of diplomatic activity was going on behind the scenes

"The role we are playing, the prism we are making all of our decisions through, is how can we help bring an end to the violence and bringing an end to, de-escalate the situation on the ground," she said.

"Our approach is through quiet, intensive diplomacy, and that's where we feel we can be the most effective."

EPACopyright: EPA

A teacher from Gaza has told BBC OS that life in the Palestinian territory is "extremely frightening".

"Everything for us is really scary," said Hanan, 26. "Whenever we hear a car... or a motorbike, we feel scared that maybe they will strike this car or strike this person who is inside the car. So it's very frightening for us, we can't sleep.

"It's really hard when we hear an air strike. The first thing we do is gather together as a family and find the safest place, but there's no safe place when there's an air strike. We gather together and my mother says all the time, 'if we're going to die let us die together'."

Hanan added: "We are losing more people, people who we love. We are suffering every day in Gaza. We are in a very big jail together, so living here is so hard."

The United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss how to "calm the situation".

The pair discussed “ways to reduce tensions and strengthen global efforts to stop the acts of violence in Israel and Palestine,” state media reports.

The UAE is among Arab nations who have found themselves in a tricky situation as the conflict has worsened.

The country recently signed an agreement to normalise their relations with Israel. But as Israel's bombardment of Gaza continues, the improvement in relations has been put on hold.

• Read more: Israel-Gaza: Conflict stalls Arab-Israeli rapprochement

EPACopyright: EPA

The US has blocked a joint UN Security Council statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the third time in a week, according to diplomats.

The text, which was drawn up by China, Tunisia and Norway, called for the "cessation of violence and respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, especially children".

It was due to be approved by the council's 15 members on Monday but the US said it "could not currently support an expression", a diplomat told AFP news agency.

The security council met online on Sunday after the US - a staunch ally of Israel - delayed a session planned for Friday.

The Israeli military says its fighter jets have bombed the headquarters of Hamas's internal security operations in the northern Gaza Strip.

In a statement quoted by Israeli media, the Israel Defense Forces said the building was "a central terror infrastructure of Hamas, from which the organisation's military intelligence operates".

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the air strike.

Father-of-three Eitan Singer tells the BBC how he tries to reassure his children as they face nightly rocket attacks from Hamas and have to rush to a shelter.

The US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, says he has met government counterparts from Israel and Egypt today to discuss the conflict.

"The United States is engaged in quiet, intensive diplomacy and our efforts will continue," Mr Sullivan tweets.

BBC Gaza producer Rushdi Abualouf has been posting updates on the aftermath of last night's bombing, where authorities are trying to fix power supplies that officials say were destroyed in Israeli strikes.

He adds that Hamas, who control Gaza, say the strikes have caused serious damage to the territory's infrastructure...

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

France and Egypt are the latest nations to call for an end to the violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, said they “share a deep worry about the ongoing escalation of violence and deplore the many civilian victims”, the Élysée Palace said in a statement.

They also agreed to co-ordinate efforts towards brokering “a rapid ceasefire”, with officials from Egypt, Qatar, the US and the UN working to end the crisis.

The Egyptian president is in Paris to attend a summit on Sudan.

A reporter with the Al-Jazeera news outlet has been describing what it was like to flee the tower block in Gaza where her organisation's offices were based, moments before it collapsed after being hit in an Israeli air strike on Saturday.

Youmna Al-Sayed said they had been given a one-hour warning by Israel on to evacuate the 12-storey building, prompting a scramble to make it out.

"We know that when we get an evacuation call, we need to act quickly because they might target the building at any time," she told the BBC's Newshour programme.

"Everyone was running around, on the stairs in the elevators, grabbing their kit, grabbing our cameras, whatever we could get with us, and running quickly, which was really traumatising for us."

"I’ve seen lots of buildings being targeted and brought down - but when it’s your house or your building… it’s really devastating.”

EPACopyright: EPA

German politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned anti-Semitic slogans and chants at recent pro-Palestinian protests and outside synagogues.

Last night a Jewish cemetery in Berlin was desecrated with green paint. Over the weekend there were about a dozen pro-Palestinian protests across Germany and there were reports of anti-Semitic chants and placards. In at least two cases Jewish people were attacked.

Most protests remained peaceful, but there were clashes when police tried to stop one protest because Covid restrictions were not being respected.

Over the past week Israeli flags have been burnt outside at least three synagogues.

Wolfgang Schäuble, president of the Bundestag, described the images of anti-Semitics slogans at the protests as "unbearable".

BBCCopyright: BBC

Israel's military said on Monday that it had destroyed 15km (nine miles) of tunnels used by Hamas and other militant groups in the Gaza Strip.

Tunnel systems used by jihadist fighters have long been an important target for Israeli air raids.

Their construction began nearly two decades ago, along the border with Egypt, in order to smuggle weapons and other goods. Since then, tunnels have also been dug beneath the Gaza-Israel border allowing Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters to emerge behind Israeli border guards.

The underground systems protect the militants' command structures while their fighters conduct operations against Israeli forces.

Many of the tunnels - usually about 65ft (20m) deep - are interconnected with multiple camouflaged openings to emerge above ground in different locations.

To keep the system hidden, the entrances are mostly located on the bottom floor of houses, mosques, schools or other public buildings.

Read more: Inside Gaza's tunnels