Gaza strikes latest: Israel continuing strikes on Gaza as tanks at border - after 'hundreds killed' in attacks

We're pausing our coverage on the Israel-Hamas war for today - but thanks for following along.

As we have been reporting, Israel carried out "extensive strikes" on Gaza overnight after talks to extend the ceasefire with Hamas failed to reach an agreement.

The IDF claimed it was targeting Hamas terrorists and issued evacuation orders for neighbourhoods in Gaza, leaving many to predict a ground invasion is to come. But the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave said more than 400 people had been killed, including women and children, and another 500 injured. 

Here's a recap of what's happened today:

Israeli military continuing strikes

After a wave of strikes overnight, the Israeli military said it was continuing to strike "terror targets" today belonging to the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant groups in Gaza.

It said the targets struck include "terrorist cells, launch posts, weapons stockpiles, and additional military infrastructure" used to plan and execute attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.

Hostage families criticise Netanyahu claim

The families of Israeli hostages in Gaza criticised claims from the Israeli government that the airstrikes were carried out due to Hamas's "refusal to release our hostages".

The office of Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would act against Hamas with "increasing military strength" as a result.

But in response, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum questioned why the government chose to pull out of the previously agreed ceasefire deal.

UK, Saudi Arabia and France among countries condemning Israeli attacks

The UK foreign minister, David Lammy, called Israel's strikes on Gaza "appalling", while Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said it denounced Israel resuming strikes on Gaza "in the strongest terms".

France also condemned the strikes, with the country's foreign ministry calling for an immediate halt to the violence.

Rafah border crossing closed

The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza in Rafah closed today, a spokesperson for the European Commission said.

The crossing is one of the main points of entry for humanitarian aid going into Gaza.

This afternoon, Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall answered your questions in a Gaza Q&A - you can catch up on what he said here...

The strikes on Gaza are "appalling", the UK foreign minister has said, adding his voice to the growing international condemnation of the Israeli attacks.

David Lammy called for all parties to "re-engage" and for "diplomacy".

Here is his full statement on X...

Lammy's comments come as the emergency relief coordinator for the UN warned that the fighting was threatening the complete collapse of the two-month ceasefire.

Speaking at a Security Council briefing today, the UN under-secretary-general Tom Fletcher said: "Overnight our worst fears materialized. Airstrikes resumed across the entire Gaza Strip. Unconfirmed reports of hundreds of people killed...once again, the people of Gaza are living in abject fear."

Fletcher said humanitarian workers remain on the ground.

Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall has just answered your questions in a Gaza Q&A - you can watch it back here:

Israel's renewed strikes have prompted speculation about the possibility of another IDF ground operation in Gaza - and Bunkall's answer to this question by Izzy was interesting...

What happens now? What's a realistic long-term solution to the conflict?

Israel has said it has plans in place to "expand the conflict and operations if it needs to do so", Bunkall said.

"In the two months of the ceasefire, Israel military commanders have been drawing up plans for a renewal of the conflict - that could include a major ground operation," he explained.

"If it does, I think it will be different to what we saw the first time around. This is because this time Israel does not need to worry about the threat from Hezbollah" - referring to the Iran-backed, Lebanese militant group that Israel targeted and weakened in a wide-scale aerial bombing campaign.

Bunkall said this means Israel could in turn concentrate more of its ground forces on Gaza and hit the region from "multiple angles all at once".

When it comes to a long-term solution, Bunkall said negotiations will have to resume and this will lead to another ceasefire agreement.

No major fighting had occurred in Gaza since the implementation of a three-stage ceasefire deal in January.

That all changed after Israel launched strikes on Gaza overnight, with hundreds reportedly dead.

What did the original ceasefire say - and what could a longer deal look like? We have a look in this piece...

We can now bring you some further international reaction to the developments in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry says it denounces Israel resuming strikes on Gaza "in the strongest terms".

It also called on the international community to step in to stop what it described as crimes against Palestinians.

France also condemned the strikes, with the country's foreign ministry calling for an immediate halt to the violence.

The EU's aid commissioner has called for an end to renewed violence and a return to a ceasefire, saying civilians in Gaza have "endured unimaginable suffering".

A spokesperson for the foreign ministry in Iran blamed the US for the latest escalation, saying Washington has "direct responsibility" for the "continuation of genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories".

We'll shortly be hearing our Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall, who is going to be answering your questions on the latest developments in the Middle East.

He'll address a range of topics, including:

• Why has Israel bombed Gaza again? 
• Who broke the ceasefire deal - Israel or Hamas? 
• What happens now - and what does Donald Trump think?

You can still submit your own questions and hear all of Bunkall's answers in the blog here.

Doctors from the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) group operating in Gaza have been recalling the early morning air attacks launched by Israel.

The group's head of emergencies, Claire Nicolet, says she was woken up to the sounds of shelling.

"We woke up at around 2am local time to 20 minutes of airstrikes and heavy artillery, just like the past 15 months of war," she says.

"We are appalled and outraged by these new unacceptable massacres of civilians."

MSF teams have responded to an influx of patients since the attacks, receiving more than 100 wounded at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza and nearly 90 dead and wounded at Al Aqsa Hospital in the centre of the enclave.

The border crossing between Egypt and Gaza in Rafah is closed, a spokesperson for the European Commission has said.

The crossing is one of the main points of entry for humanitarian aid going into Gaza.

"The crossing point is closed and the EUBAM mission of the European Union has started to put in place emergency procedures to deal with the situation as it develops," a spokesperson said.

We've just been hearing from an IDF spokesman, who has been answering questions about today's developments.

Lt Col Nadav Shoshani says Israel attacked Gaza this morning because Hamas has "not been serious enough" during peace talks and has been trying to rearm.

"In recent weeks, they have been trying to approach our forces, trying to plant explosives near our forces and preparing to carry out terror attacks," he tells presenter Kamali Melbourne.

"The only thing is, we were able to attack them before they were able to carry out a larger scale terror attack."

Looking ahead at what's to come for the Israeli campaign in Gaza, Shoshani says that "all options are on the table".

"We're ready to operate, but we're also ready to hold our weapons if our government tells us there's a good deal on the table and hostages can return home," he adds.

'You can't warn terrorists'

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the death toll so far from the strikes is 404, with more than 500 others injured.

Sky News has heard from aid workers and doctors in Gaza this morning who say civilians including women and children are among those to have been killed.

Asked whether the IDF knows how many civilians had been killed by strikes, Shoshani says Israel was targeting terrorists and the number of deaths reported by the health ministry in Gaza should be doubted.

He says the IDF sent out evacuation warnings to clear civilians away from specific areas today, but did not do so last night.

"Last night we were acting against terrorists, so obviously you can't warn those terrorists," he says.

"But we have been doing everything we can since the beginning of the war to prevent and to mitigate harm to civilians."

Israel has torn up its ceasefire deal with Hamas after accusing the militant group of a "repeated refusal" to release hostages.

All hostages were due to be released as part of the ceasefire deal announced on 15 January, but this morning's strikes have brought the process to an abrupt end.

Here's how the deal played out and how it was supposed to continue into a second phase...

Phase one

Over the course of six weeks, Hamas released 25 living Israeli hostages and eight dead hostages.

In return, Israel released about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Israeli forces also left populated areas of Gaza and hundreds of aid lorries were allowed back into the enclave daily.

The deal required 600 truckloads of humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza every day of the ceasefire, 50 of them carrying fuel, with 300 of the trucks allocated to the north.

Phase two

Negotiations on the second phase were meant to begin 16 days after the start of phase one - but this did not happen. 

Also meant to be completed over six weeks, phase two was supposed to see a permanent ceasefire established and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

Crucially, it was also due to see the remaining living hostages in Gaza handed over in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners.

Phase three

A third phase was also planned and was expected to include the return of the bodies of the dead hostages and the beginning of Gaza's reconstruction.