Israel says it has 'split Gaza in two' as Jordan air drops medical supplies - BBC News

we start with the latest from the Israel Gaza conflict , and it has been one of the heaviest nights of bombardment in Gaza since the start of the war .

With Israeli air strikes hitting the north of the territory and reports of huge explosions , Israel says it has now effectively divided Gaza into two parts north and south further south .

The Royal Jordanian Air Force cargo plane has dropped several containers of humanitarian relief supplies over the Gaza Strip .

Jordan's state news agency said the consignment was urgent medical aid for the Jordanian field hospital in Gaza .

Israeli media reports say the airdrop was carried out in co ordination with the .

Meanwhile , the US has stepped up diplomatic efforts in the region .

The Secretary of state , Antony Blinken , is now in Turkey for meetings with the country's foreign minister .

Also , the country's director , William Burns , is now in Israel urging greater effort to avoid civilian casualties .

And in the last few hours , the White House has said that Vice President Kamala Harris will discuss the conflict in a phone call with unnamed foreign leaders later today .

Let's just show you that scene live across the Gaza Strip , where it is currently just after 9 a.m. and we'll be bringing you more on all of those latest developments in the next half hour .

But first , we're going to begin our coverage with this report from our Middle East correspondent Yuan .

The relentless bombardment continues the latest Israeli strikes in northern Gaza , among the most intense so far , and once again , phone and Internet lines were cut .

This was yesterday's aftermath , locals say .

Dozens were killed .

Syed's wife and daughters were wounded .

He searches on for his neighbours .

Can anyone hear me inside ?

He shouted .

There are people .

This is part of Gaza , where civilians had been told to flee to .

Israel's military says it is looking into whether it was operating in the area at the time Israel's ground invasion is advancing .

Its military says it has now divided the territory into two and that it is doing what it can to avoid civilian casualties .

For several hours , Israeli forces say they opened a route for Gazans to head south , though relatively few made the journey .

On his latest stop in Turkey , the US secretary of state is hearing calls for an immediate ceasefire from around the region .

Washington backs short pauses in fighting .

Everyone would welcome the American because again it can advance things that we are all trying to accomplish , including getting hostages back , including getting a lot more assistance into Gaza , including getting people out of Gaza .

One of the more than 240 hostages being held in Gaza is 84 year old Elma Braham .

Her family found this photo online , where she is seen being taken by Hamas .

Her son worries how she is coping without her medication .

Right now we are four weeks after that , four weeks and one day and they are still not here .

And they should be here yesterday , not today .

Yesterday I'm liking a in some horror movie that I'm stuck .

But yeah , I still have hope .

Israel says that without progress on releasing the hostages , it won't agree to any pause in hostilities for now .

For so many , each day brings only more suffering .

Yoland Nel BBC News Jerusalem I So that's the latest from Gaza itself .

We are also following developments overnight further north on Israel's border with Lebanon .

Lebanese state media have reported that three Children and their grandmother were killed by an Israeli military strike on a car near the border itself .

The Israeli military said it had targeted a vehicle identified as suspected transport for terrorists and was checking reports that civilians had been inside .

Hezbollah said it had fired multiple rockets at northern Israel in retaliation .

We live now to Lebanon and our news correspondent , Hugo Baga .

So what's the latest on those strikes ?

Yeah , so I think this shows how tense the situation is here along the Lebanon Israel border .

So this attack happened last night again , The Lebanese authorities are saying that four civilians were killed , and they say that this was after an Israeli strike that targeted this car , not really far here , from our position in tier in southern Lebanon .

And last night a Hezbollah politician said that the group would retaliate , and I think the fear here is that this could lead to an escalation of these hostilities between Hezbollah , the powerful Lebanese group and the Israeli army .

I think last week we had the first speech by the leader of Hezbollah , Hassan Nasrallah .

He did not announce an escalation of those attacks that have been carried out by the group , but he did leave the door open for more attacks if depending on the situation on the ground .

And he did say that Hezbollah could return to its rule of civilian for civilian .

In other words , if Lebanese civilians were killed , Israeli civilians would be targeted .

So last night , Hezbollah said he had retaliated .

He had launched a barrage of missiles targeting positions in northern Israel .

And I think there is the concern here that this latest attack that resulted in these four vs being killed could lead to an escalation of the violence here .

And last night , the Lebanese caretaker prime minister described this attack as a crime and pictures of this car , this car that was destroyed after this attack , were widely shared here on social media on Lebanese television .

So again , tensions remain really high along the Lebanon Israel border because obviously the US secretary of state who , um , Secretary Blinken is on a tour at the moment really trying to calm things down .

How significant would it be if Hezbollah were to enter into this conflict ?

So after that speech by Hassan Nasrallah , I think there was some optimism from American officials saying that they believe that the conflict had been contained in Gaza that there was no sign that the situation here could escalate and this could become another front in the conflict .

But the reality is that these attacks continue .

They have been frequent .

They have been happening in several locations along the border , so there is always the risk of calculation .

There is always the risk that a single incident could spark a much more violent confrontation here .

So I think that's the fear here .

Hezbollah has indicated that these attacks are going to continue .

The Israeli authorities say that they are going to respond to every single attack coming from groups operating here in southern Lebanon .

And obviously I think some still fear that this violence could escalate and Lebanon could be dragged into another conflict .

And I don't know if you're aware of this , but I'll just bring this to you and our viewers .

So via the Reuters news agency , we are hearing that Britain's Foreign Office has said that it is temporarily withdrawing some embassy staff from Lebanon .

Have there been other moves by other governments ?

Yes , we had in the last few weeks a number of countries announcing that they would remove some of their personnel they would also they were telling their citizens to leave the country as soon as they can while commercial flights were available .

Some countries have also told their citizens to not travel to Lebanon .

So I think this is a reflection of the situation here .

How volatile the situation is along the Lebanon Israel as this conflict between Israel and Hamas continues .

Thank you very much indeed .

Thank you .

We are going to cross live now to Geneva and speak to Tomasa de la Longa , who is the spokesperson for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies .

Hello there .

And thank you for joining us here on BBC news .

Obviously this has or rather , on Sunday night , we saw the third blackout by Israel on Gaza .

How has that affected your agency ?

Thanks a lot for having me today .

And thanks for the question .

Uh , yeah , it affected badly because we had the for the first time .

As you said , uh , total blackout of communication with our teams in Gaza and we are deeply worried about that .

And even the other thing that is really concerning is that the Gazans , the people in the as a stripper will not be able to contact the emergency medical services .

So the ambulance service and these we already saw in the other two times that affected our operation and also the ability of ambulances and healthcare workers to reach the people injured or who need the medical assistance .

Obviously , the Jordanian king has announced that medical aid was dropped into parts of Gaza .

I believe the northern area of Gaza , which has been hardest hit by Israel's bombardments , is there the likelihood that more of that will take place ?

Well , I mean II , I have to say that uh um , any humanitarian aid entry in Gaza it's a positive , uh , it's a positive news , but the reality here is that there is , uh , not a There is not a continuous flow of humanitarian aid entry in the Gaza Strip first is still a drop in the ocean .

Very important , but still a drop in the ocean .

And secondly , that we we know , at least from our hospital of Al Quds in Gaza City of the palest crescent , is that mainly no humanitarian aid is entering in the north and it is a great concern All the civilians in Gaza and all the care facility in Gaza must receive much human aid , such as medicine and medical equipment for hospitals , but also for civilians .

We understand there have been two reports of strikes on or near some refugee camps within Gaza , the Al Bara refugee camp and also Benghazi refugee camp .

Many of the injured were then sent to the Al Shifa Hospital .

What can you tell us about how these hospitals are coping well , I can tell you that the health system in Gaza in general is really on the brink of collapse or almost collapse .

Some care facility already closed for lack of fuel or lack of medicine .

And then the pressure on the hospital they still are open is immense , I can tell you that our colleagues in Gaza City and the hospital telling Gaza scene where , uh , there are patients literally everywhere in corridors , in the halls , everywhere and medicine are really running out .

And , um , fuel is running out .

So electricity .

And then there is this confusion where people don't know exactly what will happen next .

Uh , we had in the last 48 hours , uh , different , uh , shelling literally in front of our hospital that created damages inside the hospital like windows broken but also damages to intensive care unit .

We can call them collateral damages .

But for the people who are in panic and for the people who are , uh , in that hospital , it means really a notable daily life .

And this must stop .

Obviously , Israel have announced that they have effectively split Gaza in two now north and south .

How is that impacting on your operations ?

And what is your plan ?

Moving forward .

You are in the main Al Quds Hospital .

Is that correct ?

Yes .

Exactly .

And and then also palesa Recre is running out Ambulance service I .

I have to say that it's a bit difficult to to make an assessment at the moment because the situation is volatile and is changing pretty fast .

What I can say is that , um , uh , humanitarian teams , ambulances a workers should have asked and should have a safe and access in every situation .

So I do hope and I do call on all the parties to make this happen and to make sure that people who need health support will get it .

No matter if Gaza Strip is divided in two or three or whatever is the next step .

Tomas de Long .

Thank you for joining us here on BBC news .

Thank you .

Thank you .