Israel-Hamas war live: dozens killed in strike on Gaza refugee camp, say Palestinians; Israel claims it has hit ‘over 2,500 terror targets’

French foreign minister Catherine Colonna said in Doha on Sunday that too many civilians have died in Israeli strikes on Gaza.

Colonna said during a joint press conference with Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, that schools, hospitals, humanitarian workers and journalists must be protected, Reuters reports.

Colonna added that an international humanitarian conference, to be hosted by France on 9 November, will cover respecting international law, basic needs such as health, water, energy and food, and will call for concrete action for civilians in Gaza.

More than 100 Britons have been evacuated from Gaza and the government hopes more will be able to leave, the UK’s deputy prime minister said on Sunday, as he urged the reopening of the Rafah crossing.

Speaking on BBC television, PA Media reports Oliver Dowden said:

It is the case that over 100 UK nationals were able to cross out of Gaza into Egypt through the Rafah crossing.

It is very disappointing that the crossing was closed yesterday. We are engaging very closely and we are hopeful that the crossing will reopen again today, enabling further UK nationals to leave the situation.

The first thing we are doing is trying to make sure we get the Rafah crossing open again and I’m hopeful we will make progress on that today. Secondly, we are seeking to have these temporary pauses to allow humanitarian aid in and to get our people out.

Reuters notes the Rafah crossing was opened for limited evacuations for three days earlier this week under a Qatari-brokered deal aimed at letting some foreign passport holders, their dependents and some wounded Gazans out.

Dowden urged Britons stuck in Gaza to get into contact with the Foreign Office as the UK Government was trying to “facilitate them in getting to the border and crossing” to Egypt.

He added it is a “very difficult situation in Gaza”, with “Hamas terrorists hiding among the civilian population and a conflict going on in a very small area.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Palestine has issued an updated bulletin in which it says it has documented 102 attacks on healthcare facilities within the Gaza Strip since 7 October.

In a post accompanied by an infographic on social media, it said:

Since 7 October, WHO has documented 102 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip. Attacks have resulted in 504 fatalities, 459 injuries, damage to 39 facilities and affected 31 ambulances.

Over half of health attacks and over a half of hospitals damaged were in Gaza City. Health care is #NotATarget. WHO calls for the active protection of civilians and health care.

Israel launched its military campaign on Gaza on 7 October after the Hamas attack, which killed at least 1,400 people inside Israel, and during which Hamas abducted at least 240 people as hostages.

An Israeli drone struck near two ambulance on their way to pick up casualties from overnight strikes in southern Lebanon, wounding four paramedics, local officials have told the AP.

It was claimed that the drone “directly targeted” the two ambulances that were heading south to attend several people wounded in an Israeli strike that hit a house overnight.

Local and medical officials told AP that the Lebanese army and the Red Cross transported the wounded paramedics to a hospital in Tyre, as Israeli strikes reportedly did not stop. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. The claims have not been independently verified by the Guardian.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has called for Benjamin Netanyahu to fire heritage minister Amihai Eliyahu over the latter’s comments that nuclear weapons were an option for Israel to use on Gaza.

On social media, former prime minister Lapid wrote:

A shocking and crazy statement by an irresponsible minister. He harmed the families of the abductees, harmed Israeli society and harmed our international standing. The presence of the extremists in the government endangers us and the success of the war goals – the victory over Hamas and the return of the kidnapped. Netanyahu must fire him this morning.

Netanyahu has reportedly suspended Eliyahu from cabinet meetings over the comments.

In the UK, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden has compared the reaction to the Hamas attack of 7 October with that of the reaction to the killing of George Floyd in the US, saying the response had lacked the “same kind of moral clarity”, and said the British Jewish community were “fearful”.

PA Media reports that in comments made on Sky News, Dowden said:

We shouldn’t see this just as a matter for the Jewish community. We should see this is as a matter for all of British society.

And I have to say to you that I am a bit disappointed that if you look at the moral indignation and the clarity that we saw after the murder of George Floyd in the US with the Black Lives Matter movement, we haven’t seen, across civic society, the same kind of moral clarity showing that Jewish lives matter.

I think that is a cause of hurt to the Jewish community and it is something that disappoints me as well. I see it, whether it is on our campuses or elsewhere, we need to send a very clear signal that Jewish people are safe in this country, not just for the sake of Jewish people but for the sake of British society.

People need to understand that antisemitism is racism, full stop. And the same abhorrence that we show to other forms of racism, we should show towards antisemitism.

Israel says that in the combined activities of its ground, air and naval forces in the Gaza Strip, “over 2,500 terror targets have been struck”.

Israel launched the campaign on 7 October after the surprise Hamas attack inside Israel’s borders that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, and during which at least 240 people were abducted and taken into Gaza as hostages.

In an update posted to its Telegram channel, the Israeli military said:

IDF troops are continuing to eliminate terrorists in close quarter combat and direct aircraft to strike Hamas terrorist infrastructure, weapons depots, observation posts, and command and control centres in the Gaza Strip.

Overnight, IDF troops directed aircraft to strike a Hamas military compound containing command and control centers, observation posts, and additional terrorist infrastructure.

During the combined activities of ground, air and naval forces in the Gaza Strip, over 2,500 terror targets have been struck.

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip puts Palestinian casualty figures since Israel began its attacks at 9,488, with a large proportion of them being women and children.

The claims of the IDF and the health ministry in Gaza have not been independently verified.

AP is reporting that Benjamin Netanyahu has suspended heritage minister Amihai Eliyahu from cabinet meetings until further notice, after Eliyahu said dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza would be an option for Israel.

Netanyahu earlier said the remark was “divorced from reality”, and defence minister Yoav Gallant also criticized Eliyahu, saying: “It’s a good thing that people like this are not in charge of Israel’s security.”

AP notes the move to suspend Eliyahu “has no practical effect”, as he was not a member of the decision-making war cabinet formed in the wake of the Hamas 7 October surprise attack inside Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to distance himself from comments by a minister in his government that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza is “one of the possibilities” and that the Palestinian population can “go to Ireland or deserts”.

Heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu of the Otzma Yehudit party is quoted by the Times of Israel as saying in an interview with Radio Kol Berama that the Palestinian people “can go to Ireland or deserts, the monsters in Gaza should find a solution by themselves”, adding that those who wave a Palestinian or Hamas flag “shouldn’t continue living on the face of the earth”.

It quotes him saying that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip “is one of the possibilities”, and that humanitarian aid to the population should be restricted, saying “we wouldn’t hand the Nazis humanitarian aid. There is no such thing as uninvolved civilians in Gaza.”

On social media, Israel’s prime minister said:

Minister Amihai Eliyahu’s statements are not based in reality. Israel and the IDF are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents. We will continue to do so until our victory.

Eliyahu is part of the broader coalition government, but the heritage minister does not sit in the wartime security cabinet.

Humanitarian groups including the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have all suggested that war crimes may be taking place in the region.

The Palestine Red Crescent society has posted a series of videos to its social media channels of paramedics working to remove injured people from the site of a strike. It writes:

A building located approximately 50 metres away from the Al-Quds hospital and the association headquarters in Tal Al-Hawa area has been targeted, resulting in its destruction and causing a number of injuries and martyrs.

The location and time of the accompanying videos has not been independently verified.

On its Telegram channel, Israel’s armed forces have claimed that “following the sirens that sounded in northern Israel, an interceptor was launched toward a suspicious target that crossed from Lebanon into Israel”.

The Telegram channel announced the warning sirens about 30 minutes ago. The claims have not been independently verified.

• This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has put the death toll from what it says were Israeli airstrikes on the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza at 33 or more, with 42 wounded, Associated Press reports.

A ministry spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qidra, said first responders – aided by residents – were still searching the rubble for dead or possible survivors after the attack early on Sunday.

The camp – a built-up residential area – is located in the evacuation zone where Israel’s military had urged Palestinian civilians in Gaza to seek refuge as it focuses its military offensive in the northern areas.

Despite such appeals, Israel has continued its bombardment across the territory, saying it is targeting Hamas fighters and assets everywhere and accusing Hamas of using civilians as human shields.

In case you missed it earlier: the United States and its Arab allies appeared divided over calls for a ceasefire in Israel’s military offensive against Hamas as the US pushed for a more temporary pause in fighting amid growing global anger over the rising death toll among Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, several Middle East foreign ministers urged the US to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire in a meeting with the secretary of state, Antony Blinken. The top US diplomat, however, dismissed the idea, saying such a halt would only benefit Hamas, allowing the militant organisation to regroup and attack again.

The diplomatic wrangling came as the conflict entered week five, with reports that more than 30 people were killed in a strike on the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.

You can read the full wrap of the war’s latest developments here:

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged protests in London, Berlin, Paris, Ankara, Istanbul, Sydney and Washington on Saturday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and castigate Israel after its military intensified its assault against Hamas, Reuters reports.

In London, television footage showed large crowds holding sit-down protests blocking parts of the city centre, before marching to Trafalgar Square. Police said they made 29 arrests.

Thousands of protesters marched down the streets of Washington waving Palestinian flags, some chanting “Biden, Biden you cannot hide, you signed up for genocide”, before congregating at Freedom Plaza, steps away from the White House.

In central Paris, thousands marched to call for a ceasefire with placards reading “Stop the cycle of violence” and “To do nothing, to say nothing is to be complicit”. It was one of the first, big gatherings in support of Palestinians to be legally allowed in Paris since the Hamas attack of 7 October.

In Berlin, demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, demanding a ceasefire. One woman marched with her arm in the air, her hand covered in fake blood.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Istanbul and Ankara, a day before a visit to Turkey by US secretary of state Antony Blinken for talks on Gaza.

In Sydney, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in the city’s Hyde Park, some carrying placards or Palestinian flags.

The United Nations has warned of a “catastrophic” situation for children in Gaza, as Israeli bombs hit a school being used as a shelter and landed outside a hospital and Israel came under mounting pressure over the civilian suffering caused by its campaign.

More than 40% of the dead in Gaza after nearly four weeks of war were children, the UN said, with 3,900 reported child victims, and another 1,250 missing and presumed buried under bombed buildings.

With little rescue machinery, and hospitals overcrowded and running out of supplies, the chances of survival for those trapped in rubble are painfully low.

“Women, children and newborns in Gaza are disproportionately bearing the burden” of a month of fighting in the tiny territory, agencies supporting children, women, health services and Palestinian refugees said in a joint statement.

The full story from Emma Graham-Harrison and Jason Burke is here:

The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza says more than 30 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza late on Saturday, Agence France-Presse reports.

“More than 30 [dead] arrived at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the massacre committed by the occupation in al-Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip,” a health ministry spokesperson, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said in a statement.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa earlier said 51 Palestinians had been killed and scores wounded in the bombardment.

Hamas said in a statement posted on Telegram that Israel had “directly” bombed citizens’ homes, adding that most of the dead were women and children.

“An Israeli air strike targeted my neighbours’ house in al-Maghazi camp, my house next door partially collapsed,” said Mohammed Alaloul, 37, a journalist working for the Turkish Anadolu Agency.

Alaloul told AFP his 13-year-old son, Ahmed, and his four-year-old son, Qais, were killed in the attack, along with his brother. His wife, mother and two other children were injured.

An Israeli military spokesperson said it was looking into whether the Israel Defence Forces had been operating in the area at the time of the bombing.

Welcome to our rolling live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, now on day 30. This is Adam Fulton and here’s an overview of the latest to bring you up to speed as it turns 8am in Gaza City and Tel Aviv.

More than 30 people were killed in an Israeli bombing of the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza late on Saturday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that Israel had “directly” bombed citizens’ homes, adding that most of the dead were women and children.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa earlier put the death toll at 51, with scores wounded.

An Israeli military spokesperson said it was looking into whether Israel forces were operating in the area at the time of the bombing.

Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged protests on Saturday in cities around the world – including London, Berlin, Paris, Istanbul, Washington and Sydney – to demand a ceasefire.

More on those stories shortly. In other news:

• US president Joe Biden signalled there were small signs of progress being made towards a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war on Saturday. US officials have been pushing for a pause but so far with little impact.

• The Palestine Red Crescent Society received 30 aid trucks that entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Saturday. Three were handed to the Red Cross and 19 to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Eight trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent were delivered to the Palestine Red Crescent.

• Gaza’s Hamas-run government suspended the evacuation of foreign passport holders to Egypt on Saturday after Israel refused to allow some wounded Palestinians to be evacuated to Egyptian hospitals, a border official said.

• Israeli military clashes with Palestinians were reported across the occupied West Bank overnight on Saturday, including in Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarm.

• Hamas’s armed wing said more than 60 hostages were missing due to Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam brigades, also said on Hamas’s Telegram account that 23 bodies of Israeli hostages were trapped under the rubble. Reuters could not immediately verify the statement.

• Protesters gathered outside the residence of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid growing anger at government failures in the lead-up to Hamas’s deadly attacks against Israel on 7 October. Protesters also gathered in Tel Aviv, with many holding signs that said “Ceasefire” and others that read “Release the hostages now at all costs”.

• Agence France-Presse has called on Israel to provide “an in-depth and transparent investigation” into the exact involvement of its army after a strike severely damaged its offices in Gaza City. “A strike on the offices of an international news agency sends a deeply troubling message to all the journalists working in such difficult conditions in Gaza,” the news agency’s chairman and CEO, Fabrice Fries, said.

• US secretary of state Antony Blinken has reaffirmed US support for “humanitarian pauses” in the Israel-Hamas war. In an address in Amman, Jordan, about sparing civilians and speeding up aid deliveries entering into Gaza, Blinken said: “The United States believes that all of these efforts will be facilitated by humanitarian pauses.”

• Four police officers were injured and 29 people were arrested after thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. They were arrested for inciting racial hatred, other racially motivated crimes, violence and assaulting a police officer, the Metropolitan Police said. It was the fourth consecutive week of London demonstrations in support of Palestinians.

• Turkey has announced it is recalling its ambassador to Israel and cutting contact with Netanyahu. Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat called Saturday’s move “another step by the Turkish president that sides with the Hamas terrorist organisation”.

• Israel will locate and kill Hamas’s Gaza chief, Yahya Sinwar, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said. “We will find Sinwar and will eliminate him,” Gallant said on Saturday as Israeli forces fought street battles with Hamas in the Palestinian territory.

• Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Washington DC on Saturday to protest against the Biden administration’s support of Israel and its continued military campaign in Gaza. The demonstrators wore black and white keffiyehs as an enormous Palestinian flag was unfurled by a crowd that filled Pennsylvania Avenue, the street leading up to the White House.