Calls for safe routes out of Gaza as Israel plans invasion to 'crush and destroy' Hamas
ITV News' James Mates reports on the latest developments as the conflict continues into its fifth day
On Saturday, Hamas launched an incursion out of Gaza into Israel, escalating a long-running conflict.
Israel has warned of a 'complete siege' of Gaza, and has cut of food, fuel, water and medicine supplies.
The death toll from the five-day conflict has surpassed 2,200 on both sides, with at least 1,100 Palestinians - including more than 320 children - and at least 1,200 Israelis killed since Saturday. Thousands more have been injured.
11 teachers and 30 students in schools in Gaza run by the UN have been killed in the violence, the organisation said on Wednesday.
Egypt and the UN are working to establish a humanitarian corridor to Gaza, while the US is in 'active talks' over creating a safe passage for civilians to escape.
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) told ITV News Hamas massacred babies, women and the elderly in an Israeli village.
Much of Gaza is left in rubble and ruins, its hospitals are on the brink of collapse and fears are growing for the 2.3 million trapped without food, fuel and medical supplies.
Its only power plant has run out of fuel and is shut down due to the Israeli blockage, leaving the densely populated land without mains electricity, the Gaza Ministry of Energy has said.
This has led to talks between the US and UN for safe passages out of Gaza for civilians, as well as a humanitarian corridor to deliver fuel, food and water into the area.
Residents are bracing for an Israeli ground invasion by hundreds of thousands of reservists amassed near the border, as the country's prime minister has vowed to "crush and destroy" Hamas.
The fighting is now into its fifth day and currently, more than 2,200 people on both sides have died.
More than 1,200 people, including 189 soldiers, have been killed in Israel so far, leading to US President Joe Biden describing the attack on the country as "the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust".
In Gaza, 1,100 people have been killed, including 326 children, according to authorities there. Israel says hundreds of Hamas fighters are among them.
It comes after another night of Israeli airstrikes in Gaza - drone footage has revealed the scale of destruction in one of its refugee camps, Jabaliya, where entire buildings have been reduced to rubble.
Streets were left blanketed with metal, chunks of concrete and thick dust leaving medical teams and rescuers struggling to access the “large number” who were killed or wounded, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said.
Large parts of the Jabaliya refugee camp have been reduced to rubble, with drone footage revealing the scale of the destruction
Every Hamas member is a “dead man,” says Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel would “crush and destroy” Hamas in response to its attack.
Mr Netanyahu said every Hamas member was a “dead man" as Israel mobilised more than 360,000 military reservists near the Gaza border ahead of a possible ground invasion.
Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza are holding around 150 soldiers and civilians hostage, according to Israel.
Netanyahu made the remarks in a late-night televised address on Wednesday as Israeli planes pounded Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israel has formed an emergency government and "war management cabinet," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz jointly announced on Wednesday.
The agreement of unity follows years of bitterly divisive politics.
The government will not pass any laws or make any decisions that do not concern the conduct of the war, the announcement said.
On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its forces were ready to ensure Hamas "won't have any military capabilities by which they can threaten or kill Israeli civilians" by the end of the fighting.
'Deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust'
The US is in talks with Israel and Egypt to create a safe passage out of Gaza for civilians, as Joe Biden describes the attack as "the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust".
The US president made the remarks while speaking to Jewish leaders in Washington and told them the US deployment of military ships and aircraft closer to Israel should be seen as a signal to Iran.
With crossing points closed and nowhere to escape, 2 million people inside Gaza are bracing for an Israeli ground invasion, as ITV News' John Ray reports
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday confirmed the US was in "active talks" over creating a safe passage out of Gaza.
Kirby said: “It’s the civilians who did nothing wrong so we want to make sure they have a way out.” He did not give any other details, such as whether aid groups would be able to use the safe passages to bring in supplies. Egypt and the UN are working to open a humanitarian corridor to deliver fuel, food and water to Gaza which Israel has cut off. It is also working with Israel, Egypt and Hamas on ending the war. It comes as 11 teachers and 30 students in schools in Gaza run by the UN have been killed in the violence, the organisation said on Wednesday.
Amid international pleas for humanitarian corridors to be established out of Gaza, a British doctor helping the wounded there told ITV News he is treating children with horrific facial injuries, and warned the limited and overwhelmed health system will collapse within days.
Professor Ghassan Abu-Sittah said: "The hospital already is at capacity, we're having to prioritise which patients go to the operating rooms. "Around 30 or 40% of the wounded coming into the hospital are children.
"We have kids with large surface area burns, we have a 14-year-old who has 70% of her body burned."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants his country to work on delivering humanitarian aid to civilians affected by the Israel-Hamas conflict, his office said Wednesday.
What happens next? ITV News' International Affairs Editor Rageh Omaar explains from Jerusalem
British flights to Tel Aviv suspended
British Airways and Virgin Galactic have suspended flights to and from Israel because of safety concerns, the airlines said.
It comes after other carriers, such easyJet and Wizz Air, suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv.
On Wednesday afternoon, a BA flight from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv was diverted according to tracking service Flight Radar.
Flight BA165 was due to land in the Israeli city at 3.05pm (BST) but instead it appeared to U-turn over West Bank, travel back across Europe, and is now returning to Heathrow.
Both BA and Virgin told ITV News the were prioritising customer safety and would offer refund or rebooking options.
Where have Israel's rockets hit and what does this mean for Gaza, Rebecca Barry reports
300,000 Israeli military reservists mobilised to target Hamas bases
Lieutenant Jonathan Conricus, of the IDF, said 300,000 military reservists are gathering near the Gaza border, including "infantry, armoured soldiers [and] artillery corps".
He said Israel was aiming to hit legitimate targets, claiming Hamas locates its bases within civilian buildings.
Mr Conricus said: "You may have seen footage on TV or on social media and you may see a building standing and then flashes and then the building collapses.
"And you say to yourself 'well that looks very much like a civilian building'. What I want to tell you is that no, that isn't a civilian building.
"It is a legitimate military target, and why is that?
"Because Hamas locates all of their offices, headquarters, their research and development and all of their other military assets, if it's above ground, they locate themselves in civilian buildings."
James Cleverly visits Israel as 17 British people are feared dead or missing
ITV News understands that 17 British citizens are feared dead or missing since the violence began.
Four British men - Jake Marlowe, 26, Nathanel Young, 20, Bernard Cowan, 57, and Dan Darlington - have been confirmed dead by their families.
Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was forced to run for cover while visiting southern Israel after air raid sirens warned of an incoming attack.
Mr Cleverly arrived in the country on Wednesday in a show of "unwavering solidarity" with Israel.
Both the UK and the US have been among those offering firm backing to Israel but concerns have been expressed in the UN and elsewhere about the impact on civilians as air strikes continue to hit Gaza.
How will Israel respond to the Hamas massacre in its border village? After witnessing the horrors, John Ray tells Rageh Omaar what you need to know...