17:05 GMT — Taher Al Nono, a political adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, said that unspecified negotiations were continuing and no deal had been reached with Israel so far.
The White House had said earlier in the day that Israel would begin daily four-hour pauses in northern Gaza to enable Palestinians to flee Hamas-Israeli fighting in the coastal enclave.
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17:29 GMT — Belgium urges EU sanctions on Israeli 'extremists'
The EU should look at barring "extremist" Israelis who call for violence against Palestinians from visiting Europe, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said.
The liberal premier pointed to Israeli violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and said the lack of action against such "violent extremists" was "unacceptable".
"Our country must ensure that those who commit serious crimes, for example, those who commit violence in the West Bank, can be prevented from entering our country and the European Union," De Croo told the Belgian parliament.
He suggested there could be sanctions on individuals, including "a minister who calls for the use of nuclear weapons against a population that cannot do anything and that already lives today in horrible conditions".
17:11 GMT — No ceasefire in Gaza, just brief, local pauses: Israeli military
Israel has not agreed to any ceasefires during its war on Gaza, but will continue to allow brief, localised pauses to let in humanitarian aid, the Israeli military said.
"There's no ceasefire, I repeat there's no ceasefire. What we are doing, that four-hour window, these are tactical, local pauses for humanitarian aid," army spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said.
17:01 GMT — Poverty soars in conflict-hit Gaza, West Bank: UN
The socioeconomic "shock" of the Israel-Hamas war will force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into poverty, a UN report on the conflict's possible long-term impacts on blockaded Gaza and the occupied West Bank warned.
After a month of intense Israeli bombardment of Gaza, the poverty rate in the Palestinian territories is expected to soar from 26.7 percent to 31.9 percent, according to estimates from the UN Development Program (UNDP).
That represents about 285,000 people added to the impoverished pre-war population of almost 1.5 million.
The poverty rate could reach 35.8 percent if the conflict lasts another month, according to the report, and rise further to 38.8 percent if it lasts two months.
16:52 GMT — Israeli army reports clashes in 'security square' of Hamas in central Gaza City
Fighting between the Israeli army and the Qassam Brigades is taking place in what Israel referred to as the “security square” of Hamas in central Gaza City, the military said.
“Infantry, armored units, and engineering forces from the 162nd Division, backed by the Air Force and special forces, infiltrated into the security square and authority square of Hamas in the center of Gaza City, next to Al-Shifa Hospital,” it said in a statement.
The Israeli army posted a video of an abandoned school without specifying the location.
"The security square is comprised of strategic locations for Hamas, including the main intelligence headquarters, air defence headquarters, and the authority offices of Hamas, including the Ministry of the Interior and police centers,” it said.
15:58 GMT — Israel to start daily four-hour 'pauses' in attacks on Gaza — US
Israel has agreed to begin daily four-hour "military pauses" in northern Gaza to allow people in the area to flee the war, the White House said.
"Israel will begin to implement four-hour pauses in areas of northern Gaza each day, with an announcement to be made three hours beforehand," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
"We believe these pauses are a step in the right direction, particularly to help ensure that civilians have an opportunity to reach safer areas away from the active fighting," he said.
The pauses will allow humanitarian assistance to be moved into the areas where they are implemented and will allow Palestinians there "to get out of harm's way," according to Kirby.
16:06 GMT — Gaza deaths likely 'higher than is being cited,' says senior US diplomat
Despite shocking totals of over 10,000 Palestinians in Gaza killed since October 7, according to Health Ministry in the enclave, the number is likely to be "higher than are being cited," according to a senior US diplomat.
"In this period of conflict and conditions of war, it is very difficult for any of us to assess what the rate of casualties are," Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, said in testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
“We’ll know only after the guns fall silent," Leaf said, adding that the US has sources from a "variety of folks who are on the ground."
15:39 GMT — Biden says 'no possibility' of Gaza ceasefire
US President Joe Biden said that there was currently "no possibility" of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
"None. No possibility," Biden told reporters as he left the White House for a trip to Illinois when asked about the chances of a ceasefire.
15:30 GMT – Gaza death toll rises to 10,812
The Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 10,812, the Health Ministry in the blockaded enclave said on Thursday.
"The victims include 4,412 children, 2,918 women and 676 elders, while more than 26,000 people were injured," ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra told a press conference in Gaza City.
He said 2,650 people, including 1,400 children, were also reported to be trapped under the rubble.
14:25 GMT – Hamas political leader arrives in Egypt
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas group, has arrived in Egypt to discuss the situation in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Haniyeh held talks with the head of Egyptian intelligence on Thursday.
His trip comes as Egypt continues to facilitate movement of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
12:40 GMT – Macron urges Gaza ceasefire
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged nations to "work towards a ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, as he opened a conference on aid to the Palestinian territory.
"In the immediate term, we need to work on protecting civilians. To do that, we need a humanitarian pause very quickly and we must work towards a ceasefire," Macron told delegates.
11:40 GMT — 'No humanitarian crisis in Gaza': Israel military official
An Israeli military official has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, even as he acknowledged the Palestinian territory faces several challenges amid the ongoing war.
"We know the civil situation in the Gaza Strip is not an easy one," said Colonel Moshe Tetro, head of coordination and liaison at COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body handling civil affairs in Gaza.
"But I can say that there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip," he told reporters.
11:22GMT — UN aid chief warns Gaza conflict could spread across region like wildfire
The conflict in Gaza is a wildfire that could spread across the region, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths has said, adding that allowing the situation to continue in Gaza would be a "travesty".
"The United Nations cannot be part of unilateral proposal to push Palestinians into so-called safe zones," he also said at the start of the humanitarian conference in Paris.
10:50 GMT - US senator says Gaza civilian toll 'too high'
A US senator has said that it is "vital" for Israel to carry out more targeted strikes in Gaza to limit civilian casualties.
"I think that the civilian death toll has been too high and a more surgical approach would be important and vital," Chris Murphy, a Democratic member of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told the AFP news agency.
"I am concerned that if Israel's strategy and end goal is to defeat Hamas, then this pace of civilian casualties, which certainly comes with a moral cost, also comes with a strategic cost."
4:00 GMT - More than 100 Democrats seek protected status for Palestinians in US
A group of Democratic lawmakers have urged US President Joe Biden to allow Palestinian tourists, students and workers in the United States to remain in light of Israel's war on Gaza and violence in the occupied West Bank, mainly by illegal Jewish settlers.
In a letter to Biden on Wednesday, more than 100 Democrats led by US Senator Dick Durbin called on Biden to grant residents of Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories deportation relief and access to work permits through US programmes for people whose homelands are affected by conflicts, natural disasters or other extraordinary circumstances.
"In light of ongoing armed conflict, Palestinians already in the United States should not be forced to return to the Palestinian territories, consistent with President Biden's stated commitment to protecting Palestinian civilians," the lawmakers wrote.
3:55 GMT - US strikes Syria as Israel's Gaza invasion grinds on
US warplanes have carried out a strike on what US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said was an Iran-linked site in eastern Syria in response to attacks against American personnel.
"US military forces conducted a self-defense strike on a facility in eastern Syria used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups. This strike was conducted by two US F-15s against a weapons storage facility," Austin said in a statement.
This is the second time in less than two weeks that the US has bombed facilities used by the militant groups, which US officials say have carried out at least 40 such attacks since October 17.
3:00 GMT — Houthis shoot down US drone off Yemen
A US military MQ-9 drone has been shot down by Yemen's Houthis, two US officials and the Houthi movement said.
While US drones have been shot down by Houthis in the past, this incident comes at a particularly tense time in the region.
Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during Israel's war on Gaza.
2:30 GMT — Palestinians flee combat zone Gaza's north
A long line of thousands of Palestinians have fled on foot from northern Gaza — families, children and older adults, crying babies — carrying only what they could take in their arms or on their backs.
They were seen in Associated Press video walking down Gaza’s main north-south highway, heeding the Israeli military's ultimatum to evacuate during a five-hour window as its troops battled Hamas fighters deep inside Gaza City. Some evacuees were pushing relatives in wheelchairs, with one older adult wheeled down the road in a hand truck.
Abeer Akeila left her home in Gaza city after relentless Israeli strikes forced all her neighbours to flee southward. She said life in the city has become increasingly difficult amid dwindling water and food supplies.
For our live updates from Wednesday (November 8), click here.
