The Israeli military says it's expanding its ground operation into "all areas" of the Gaza Strip following the resumption of fighting on Friday.

It has this morning posted on social media a fresh order for people to evacuate about 20 areas of the Palestinian enclave.

Its forces have been pushing further south - amid warnings from humanitarian groups that Gazans are running out of places to flee.

Senior US officials earlier reiterated their view that Israel had a right to defend itself - but added that its soldiers must protect civilians.

Meanwhile, an adviser to Israel's PM told the BBC his country was making "maximum effort" to avoid civilian casualties.

The Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October killed 1,200 people, with around 240 others taken hostage.

Since then, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says more than 15,500 people have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign, including about 6,000 children.

Source: BBC

BDST: 1440 HRS, DEC 04, 2023
SMS