The UK’s deputy prime minister, Oliver Dowden, has said his government will convene an ‘cobra’ meeting to discuss the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Such meetings are usually held at times of heightened emergency, such as after threats of attack and the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

Dowden told broadcaster Times Radio that ministers and officials will discuss the UK’s approach to the ongoing conflict, including attempts to return British hostages held by Palestinian groups in Gaza.

The need for humanitarian assistance will also likely be on the agenda, as more and more countries call for a pause in fighting to allow urgent humanitarian help in.

Good morning MEE readers.

It is now the 20th day since the start of the war between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza. 

It appears that in recent days, less news has been coming out of Gaza overnight, as internet and telecommunications infrastructure has been severely damaged.

If you are just tuning into our live blog coverage, here is what you may have missed over the past several hours:

Israel said it conducted a ground operation in Gaza, attacked several sites, and then withdrew. Hamas has not yet commented on the Israeli military's statement.

• Biden's remarks casting doubt on the Palestinian death toll have been widely condemned as dehumanising, with the largest US Muslim rights group demanding he apologise.

• More countries are joining calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting, in order to allow aid to enter Gaza.

• Biden and Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday afternoon, and they discussed efforts at locating and securing the release of Americans held captive in Gaza.

• An exclusive from MEE: US officials are preparing dissent cables to voice their opposition to Biden's full-fledged support of Israel's bombing of Gaza.

• Dozens more Palestinians have been arrested across the West Bank on Thursday morning.

We're working hard to provide you with up-to-date information around the clock, and are going to continue doing that throughout the day. You can also find our coverage across Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

Israel's military said that its ground forces operated within northern Gaza in the early hours of Thursday, attacking multiple Hamas targets before withdrawing.

The military posted online that the incursion was carried out "in preparation for the next stages of combat", likely referring to the looming large-scale ground invasion that Israeli leaders have threatened. Israel's Army Radio described the overnight raid as the largest it has conducted since 7 October.

"The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory," the military statement said.

Hamas did not immediately comment on the statement.

Israeli security forces have made another series of arrests in areas across the occupied West Bank on Thursday morning, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

In the Bethlehem government, 14 Palestinians were arrested, while in Sanur, located south of Jenin, another four Palestinians were arrested.

Earlier on Thursday morning, Israeli forces arrested more than a dozen Palestinians near Ramallah.

Hundreds of students at Concordia University and McGill University in Montreal, Canada, participated in a walk-out on Wednesday to send a message to their administrations: They will not allow the attacks from pro-Israel groups to silence them.

They also demanded that their universities divest from Israel. The protests were part of a coordinated effort by student groups across the US and Canada as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise.

A Palestinian student from McGill told MEE that students were quickly recognising the injustice of the Israeli state in spite of the attempts to censor and discourage Palestinian advocacy on campuses.

"Awareness of what is taking place in Gaza is increasing. And we are seeing more and more people coming out," the student, who asked to remain anonymous, said.

Israeli security forces have launched another mass arrest campaign in the occupied West Bank in the early hours of Thursday.

Near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israel arrested 17 Palestinians from the town of Kober, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli forces also arrested three Palestinians from al-Mughayir, a town east of Ramallah, and one Palestinian from the town of Arora, northwest of Ramallah, according to the news agency.

Japan is calling on Israel to temporarily suspend fighting to allow humanitarian assistance to the besieged Gaza Strip, its foreign ministry said.

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday afternoon, discussing efforts at locating and securing the release of Americans held captive in Gaza, according to a readout from the White House.

"They also reviewed ongoing discussions to ensure safe passage for foreign nationals wishing to depart Gaza as soon as possible," the White House readout said.

More than a dozen Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, several Palestinian media outlets have reported.

The exact number of dead is unclear, as there are conflicting reports with the death toll in the strike likely to increase.

Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, is calling for a humanitarian pause to the war, in a move that comes after more than 300 former staffers of his demanded a ceasefire to the conflict.

"To my mind, a pause is essential for the protection of civilians as required by the laws of war, as well as for the provision of robust supplies of food, water, and medical aid to address the growing humanitarian catastrophe," Sanders said, without mentioning a ceasefire.

Sanders also called for a briefing from the Biden administration on what an Israeli ground invasion and occupation of Gaza.

"I have serious concerns about what this invasion and potential occupation of Gaza will mean, both in terms of the long-term security of Israel and the well-being of the Palestinian residents of Gaza," he said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim rights group in the US, released a statement on Wednesday condemning President Joe Biden for his remarks in which he stated that he doesn’t have confidence in the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza.

“I’m sure innocents have been killed and it is the price of waging war," Biden said. "I have no confidence in the number [of civilian casualties] that the Palestinians are using."

The organisation’s executive director, Nihad Awad, said he was “disturbed and shocked by the dehumanizing comments”.

“President Biden should apologize for his comments, condemn the Israeli government for deliberately targeting civilians, and demand a ceasefire before more innocent people die,” Awad said.

A Palestinian journalist, Doaa Sharaf, was killed on Wednesday night by an Israeli air strike that hit her home in Gaza City, several Palestinian media outlets are reporting.

The killing of Sharaf, who was a journalist with Sawt Al-Aqsa Radio, would raise the number of Palestinian journalists killed since 7 October to at least 25.

The new US Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has introduced a resolution supporting Israel in his first action as leader of the chamber.

"The first bill I'm going to bring to this floor in a little while will be in support of our dear friend Israel and we are overdue in getting that done," Johnson said as he accepted the speakership.

The House backed the resolution by 412 to 10, with six members voting "present," reflecting traditional bipartisan support in Congress for Israel. The non-binding measure reaffirms US commitment to Israel and calls on Hamas to immediately cease attacks and release every hostage.

However, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the sole Palestinian American in Congress, released a statement shortly after the vote, to explain why she voted against it.

"This resolution rightly mourns the thousands of Israeli civilians killed and wounded in the horrific attacks but explicitly does not mourn the thousands of Palestinian civilians, including over 2,000 children, killed and wounded in the collective punishment of Palestine," Tlaib said.

On Wednesday, Haaretz reported that Johnson, the new speaker and an evangelical Christian, has close links to Israel's far right.

US State Department staff are preparing urgent dissent cables over Washington's support for Israel's relentless bombing campaign of Gaza, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Several sources told MEE that tensions are at fever-pitch within the department, where officials are growing increasingly frustrated with the US President Joe Biden administration's open backing of what human rights activists are calling war crimes against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

A draft of one cable, diplomats write that Hamas's attack on Israel cannot be used as a justification for Israel to carry out the indiscriminate killing of innocent people in Gaza.

Check out the full story by clicking below.

State Department officials prepare dissent cables in opposition to Gaza assault