Live blog update| Israel's war on Gaza
This is an entry from: Israel-Palestine live: Week three ends with over 7,000 Palestinians killed

Evening recap

26 October 2023 23:13 BST

Good evening MEE readers, 

As we near the 20th day since the war began, the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment now exceeds 7,000. 

US President Joe Biden cast doubt on the number of deaths in Gaza on Wednesday, so the Palestinian health ministry published a 210-page document with names, ages, ID numbers, and other details about each person killed. It doesn't include those missing or deaths not registered by hospitals - so the real figure is likely to be higher. 

Over 190,000 residential units had been damaged in the enclave, leaving over 29,000 units uninhabitable. Israeli air strikes have also damaged 189 schools, 38 mosques, three churches and ten bakeries. 

Here's what you may have missed from the last few hours: 

  • Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's far-right national security minister, will put forward a vote proposing to relax the rules of engagement and allow police to open fire on Palestinian protesters in Israel.

  • Israeli settlers have handed out leaflets to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank threatening them with a "major Nakba", while dolls covered in blood were left at a Palestinian school.

  • Around 900 additional US troops are heading to the Middle East to bolster air defences and protect US personnel. It comes after Biden sent a "direct message" to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning against targeting American troops.

  • A Hamas delegation arrived in Moscow on Thursday, while the US and Qatar agreed to revisit Doha's links with the Palestinian group. 

  • EU leaders have agreed during a summit in Brussels to call for the establishment of "humanitarian corridors and pauses" to allow aid into Gaza.

  • A spokesperson for Hamas' armed wing said that Israeli air strikes had killed around 50 Israeli hostages in Gaza. 

  • Lynn Hastings, the UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in Palestine, said that "nowhere is safe in Gaza", with evacuation routes being bombed, and people in both the north and south coming under Israeli air strikes. 

  • The UAE, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and Morocco published a joint statement condemning the targeting of civilians in Gaza

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