20:00:01

That's all for our coverage today

We'll be back soon with more updates from Gaza.

Today, Israel's military continued its first steps of an operation to take over Gaza City after calling up around 60,000 reservists.

Israeli statements signal that they are pressing ahead with its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban centre, despite international criticism of an operation that could force the displacement of many more Palestinians.

The IDF also warned medics and international organisations in northern Gaza as they prepare for the"evacuation" of the population to the south.

Here are the other key lines over the past day:

•  Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will begin immediate negotiations for the release of all hostages and an end to the war on terms acceptable to Israel;
• Israel's ambassador to the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office in response to Israel's controversial West Bank settlement plan;
• Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's finance minister, had announced the plan for a settlement project in the occupied West Bank;
• The Media Freedom Coalition, which includes the UK and 50 other countries, called on Israel to allow foreign media access into Gaza;
• The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said the famine in Gaza is"deliberate".

19:08:52

Protesters gather in Israel - 'enough sacrificing'

Protests continue in Israel, where relatives of hostages still in Gaza are calling for a deal to free their loved ones.

Dalia Cusnir, whose brother-in-law Eitan Horn is still held in the devastated territory, believes some hostages have been killed because of military pressure and a delay in signing a deal.

Eitan's brother, Iair Horn, was freed during a ceasefire earlier this year.

Bar Goddard, the daughter of Meni Goddard, whose body is being held by Hamas, added:"Enough to sacrifice the hostages. Enough to sacrifice the soldiers, both regular and reservists.

"Enough to sacrifice the evacuees. Enough to sacrifice the younger generation in the country."

More protests are planned tonight in Tel Aviv.

18:16:49

Netanyahu orders 'immediate negotiations' for end to war - as Israel advances on Gaza City

Israel's prime minister has just said the country is in a"decision-making stage".

His troops, as we've been reporting, have started to advance on Gaza City as part of a takeover plan.

But he added this:"At the same time, I have instructed to begin immediate negotiations on the release of all our hostages and an end to the war on terms acceptable to Israel.

"These two things - defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages - go hand in hand."

He did not give any further details on these negotiations.

On Tuesday, Israeli officials said the country is studying Hamas's response to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and release of half the hostages still held in Gaza.

One source said all Israeli captives must be freed for the war to end.

Mediators Egypt and Qatar have been pushing proposals to restart indirect talks on a US-backed ceasefire plan.

18:10:01

IDF chief says troops are on 'outskirts' of Gaza City - with more forces set to join

The IDF's chief was in Gaza today, according to the Israeli military.

While there, Eyal Zamir spoke to troops as Israel advances into Gaza City.

According to the IDF, here's what he had to say:"We are advancing with the efforts toward operations in Gaza City.

"We already have troops operating on the outskirts of the city, and more forces will join them later on."

Their mission, he said, is the"release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas".

"We have inflicted severe damage on Hamas," he added.

"From the terrorist organisation we experienced on October 7, it has turned into a guerrilla organisation.

"We will continue to strike Hamas everywhere, pursue them for as long as necessary and wherever necessary."

17:35:01

Abandon your settlement plan for the West Bank, foreign ministers urge Israel

Israel's controversial settlement plan in the West Bank - see the posts just below this one - is being widely criticised.

Foreign ministers from nations including the UK, Italy, France, Australia, Japan and Canada have backed this joint statement:

The Israeli government's decision to approve settlement construction plans in the E1 area, east of Jerusalem, is unacceptable and a violation of international law.

We condemn this decision and call for its immediate reversal in the strongest possible terms.

Minister Smotrich asserts that this plan will make a two-state solution impossible by dividing any Palestinian state and restricting Palestinian access to Jerusalem.

This brings no benefit to the Israeli people. On the contrary, it risks undermining security and fuelling further violence and instability, moving us further away from peace.

The government of Israel still has the opportunity to prevent the E1 plan from moving forward. We encourage them to abandon this plan.

16:55:08

Where is the controversial West Bank settlement?

The settlement is set to be built in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, and includes around 3,500 apartments to expand the existing settlement of Maale Adumim.

It's these plans drawing criticism from abroad and leading the UK to summon Israel's ambassador, as we just reported in the post below this one.

E1 has been eyed for Israeli development for more than two decades, but plans were halted due to pressure from the US during previous administrations.

A two-state solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict would see a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza existing side by side with Israel.

Today, an estimated 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. There is also a growing movement of Israelis wanting to build settlements in Gaza.

Settlers make up around 5% of Israel's population and 15% of the West Bank's population, according to data from Peace Now.

Settlements are illegal under international law and have been condemned by the UN. They are, however, authorised by the Israeli government.

16:10:14

UK summons Israeli ambassador over West Bank plan

Israel's ambassador to the UK has been summoned to the Foreign Office in response to Israel's controversial West Bank settlement plan.

Final approval has been given for the controversial project - known as the E1 settlement - that would effectively cut off the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem and divide the territory in two.

The UK and 21 international partners have written to condemn the decision"in the strongest terms".

"If implemented, these settlement plans would be a flagrant breach of international law and would divide a future Palestinian state in two, critically undermining a two-state solution," a statement said.

The UN also condemned the decision, with spokesperson Stephane Dujarric saying it"will drive a stake through the heart of the two-state solution".

'Burying the idea of a Palestinian state'

Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist in the ruling right-wing coalition, said the government was delivering with the settlement what it had promised for years:"The Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions."

He said last week that the settlement would "finally bury the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no one to recognise".

Our chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay was recently in the West Bank, and last week brought this report from inside the territory.

15:44:23

'If they didn't die because of bombing, they would die due to starvation'

People go to humanitarian aid sites in Gaza despite the dangers because they have"no other choice", a member of the Reviving Mutual Aid Project has told Sky's Kamali Melbourne.

Speaking from Gaza City, Ola Amira said the situation in Gaza was"indescribable" and "so hard that it was beyond what a human can endure".

She said she and her family had been displaced around 10 times and the future was"unknown".

"We don't know what is going to be a safe area and what won't be," she said.

"Even safe areas are not safe.

"We have been displaced many times before and when we went to the area that the Israeli forces told us to go the situation was not safe at all."

And when it came to Gaza humanitarian aid sites, she added:"People go there with no other choice because they are hungry and they get bombed.

"People go there knowing they are risking their lives but they have no choice because their children or their mothers are asking for food.

"If they didn't die because of bombing they would die due to starvation.

"People choose to go there even though people there get bombed and die there, so it is not humanitarian at all."

15:31:27

Turkish ports 'implement barriers to Israel-linked ships' - report

Turkish port authorities have begun informally requiring shipping agents to provide letters declaring that vessels are not linked to Israel and not carrying military or hazardous cargo bound for the country, sources have told Reuters.

Two shipping sources said the move is another step Turkey has taken against Israel after it severed trade with the country last year over its war in Gaza.

The sources said the harbour master's office had verbally instructed port agents to provide written assurances.

One of the sources said the instruction applied to ports across Turkey.

And the second source said vessels arriving directly from Israel or departing to Israeli ports would no longer be permitted to dock in Turkey, according to information provided by the port authority of the northwestern province of Kocaeli.

Turkish-flagged ships will also be prohibited from calling at Israeli ports, according to the source.