recently its warplanes have hit several multi—storey buildings in the centre of gaza city. the barrage of rocket fire from gaza into israeli territory began just after dawn, with explosions heard on the streets of ashkelon. sderot is one of the towns thought to have been infiltrated by militants. with the latest on this fast escalating conflict, here's our middle east correspondent yolande knell, and a warning that you may find some of her report upsetting. israeli partygoers from an overnight rave running for their lives. israel's nightmare scenario — armed palestinian militants at large in southern israel. it is thought that dozens entered, some cutting through the perimeter fence from the gaza strip. in the town of sderot, residents hid as fighters drove in. there was shooting and the israeli casualties began to mount. in a dramatic turn, videos were also shared of israelis being taken into gaza as hostages. the day had begun with intense barrages of palestinian rockets, some reaching as far asjerusalem. but the worst damage was in the towns closest to gaza. this was ashkelon. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu met top security officials. translation: since this morning, | the state of israel has been at war. our first objective is to clear out enemy forces that infiltrated, and restore the security and quiet to communities that have been attacked. the second objective, at the same time, is to exact an immense price from the enemy within the gaza strip, too. leaders of hamas, the islamist militant group which controls gaza, now living overseas, were shown watching the unfolding news and praying. in gaza, there were celebrations after an israeli tank was captured, and stolen israeli military vehicles were driven in. but soon the deadly pounding by israeli warplanes began. the israeli military saying it was targeting hamas sites. and in gaza, too, the hospitals have now been overwhelmed. many palestinian families have fled from their homes and are seeking safety in un—run schools. after this unprecedented surprise attack, israel is calling up military reservists. it said hamas will pay the price for its actions. and the fighting goes on. the question now, can it be stopped from spreading to other palestinian areas and the wider region? live now to fleur hassan—nahoum who's the deputy mayor ofjerusalem. thank you very much for being with us. difficult and distressing day for you and the whole country. terrible day. we woke up this morning early with silence, which is how we know we have a minute to run to the shelters. myself and my poor children went to the shelter. this is actually a rare occurrence in jerusalem, because rocket fire is rare. —— myself and my four children. fortunately people in the south of israel are quite ready for it, because for the last ten or 15 years, kids have grown up running to shelters from rockets coming from gaza. it's been completely unprecedented, the attack on israel today. the fact they were able to get through a very heavily guarded border, get into people's horses, kill people, kidnap people, it's devastating for israel. devastating. and as a government official, how much information do you have about the ongoing operations? can you update us? we the ongoing operations? can you update us?— the ongoing operations? can you udate us? ~ . ., . ., update us? we have the information an bod update us? we have the information anybody has- — update us? we have the information anybody has. tomorrow _ update us? we have the information anybody has. tomorrow we - update us? we have the information anybody has. tomorrow we have - update us? we have the information anybody has. tomorrow we have a i anybody has. tomorrow we have a specialjerusalem meeting with the mayors, but ultimately we know what we know on the news, which is that the army is now clearing up the majority of the different neighbourhoods in the southern israel that were infiltrated from the terrorists from hamas. there are still some running around actually. until they clear them out they can't stop the retaliation. because they kidnap innocent women, children, elderly people, three—year—old children... it's completely unconscionable what's been happening. who they have taken over there. look, in the end, israel or court has a better army and firepower etc. we will eventually win this, but how many innocent people have to die until we do? —— israel of course has the better army and firepower etc. this israel of course has the better army and firepower etc.— and firepower etc. as you said, you have been — and firepower etc. as you said, you have been in _ and firepower etc. as you said, you have been in the _ and firepower etc. as you said, you have been in the air _ and firepower etc. as you said, you have been in the air raid _ and firepower etc. as you said, you have been in the air raid shelters. i have been in the air raid shelters. have any rocket successfully got through the iron dome? have they strike anywhere injerusalem? thea:t strike anywhere in jerusalem? they landed in open _ strike anywhere injerusalem? tie: landed in open territory strike anywhere injerusalem? tue: landed in open territoryjust outsidejerusalem, which is where it normally lands. so nothing too close to home, but what we were afraid of injerusalem was hamas activating their sleeper cells that exist in eastjerusalem. that's what we really were concerned, that they would go on a rampage, killing people. thankfully it has been calm. as deputy mayor, what kind of preparations do you make for this kind of event, unprecedented as it is? , ., kind of event, unprecedented as it is? , . , . , kind of event, unprecedented as it is? israel, since its inception, we have had wars. — is? israel, since its inception, we have had wars, existential- is? israel, since its inception, we have had wars, existential for. is? israel, since its inception, we| have had wars, existential for us. have had wars, existentialfor us. we have always been attacked. we have never initiated a war. so we are ready. we have resilience. we have citywide shelters across the city which the mayor opened up this morning pretty early. we are always on alert. even regular citizens who have served in the army, they also know how to defend themselves. this is an unusual situation for us to have been surprised by this attack, and to how to retaliate quickly. we also have to understand that gaza has been a quiet border. israel has been increasing the work permits it gives gazans for them to come into work. we have to sit out there facilitated payments from qatar. we left gaza in 2005, people forget, they govern themselves. unfortunately they were taken over by a terrorist group, the uk also has them down as a terrorist group, and that is the problem. there has been run by a terrorist group, a proxy arm of iran. and ultimately we are the first stop in the ambitions of iran. their stock is western civilisation. hamas is a proxy. hezbollah's a proxy. it's notjust israelis who should be worried today, it's the whole western world and the way we live which is under threat from this genocidal regime in iran. has threat from this genocidal regime in iran. �* , , ., threat from this genocidal regime in iran. a threat from this genocidal regime in iran. , threat from this genocidal regime in iran. a , ,. ., iran. as you say, very unusual for this kind of _ iran. as you say, very unusual for this kind of attack _ iran. as you say, very unusual for this kind of attack to _ iran. as you say, very unusual for this kind of attack to come - iran. as you say, very unusual for this kind of attack to come as - iran. as you say, very unusual for this kind of attack to come as a l this kind of attack to come as a surprise. it's a huge and devastating intelligence failure, isn't it? many are saying since august a likely attack was coming from either hamas or hezbollah'. i’m from either hamas or hezbollah'. i'm not ri from either hamas or hezbollah'. i“n not privy to intelligence information so i don't know if they were warned or not. today isn't only the sabbath but it's one of the high holy days. unfortunately we hear echoes of the yom kippur war which we are commemorating this week, 50 years of the yom kippur war, 1973, which also caught israel by surprise and almost put an end to israel. this is not the case today, we are stronger, but it has been a devastating attack.- stronger, but it has been a devastating attack. what do you think this is — devastating attack. what do you think this is going _ devastating attack. what do you think this is going to _ devastating attack. what do you think this is going to mean - devastating attack. what do you think this is going to mean for l devastating attack. what do you i think this is going to mean for your government? benjamin netanyahu has said he does welcome a unity government, and the opposition leader actually suggesting it in the first. do you think this is the end for prime minister benjamin netanyahu? does the buck stop with him for this failure?— him for this failure? ultimately, an hinu him for this failure? ultimately, anything that — him for this failure? ultimately, anything that brings _ him for this failure? ultimately, anything that brings unity - him for this failure? ultimately, anything that brings unity within the state of israel, and a unity government is the call of the hour, we are in an emergency situation, we should all band together. be honest, if we hadn't been so divided internally over the last six months, this may not have happened. enemies smell weakness. we were so busy fighting amongst ourselves. we didn't pay attention to what was being prepared. terrible thing being prepared against us. so i'm hoping this is the beginning of national unity, and the end of attacks by our terrorist enemies. haifa unity, and the end of attacks by our terrorist enemies.— terrorist enemies. how do you resond terrorist enemies. how do you reapond to _ terrorist enemies. how do you respond to those _ terrorist enemies. how do you respond to those who - terrorist enemies. how do you respond to those who defend l terrorist enemies. how do you - respond to those who defend hamas' actions, and the hundreds of people who have taken part in them? they say there is so much anger and frustration in gaza, it's bound to have boiled over. they say that although hamas is in charge, there is still a blockade in the territory, they are not free to come and go as they please, and they are not happy with the increasing numbers of settlers in recent years in the west bank. they say there is so much anger and lack of hope. the anier and so much anger and lack of hope. ti2 anger and lack of hope is because they have a government that, instead of taking international aid that everybody send them, are using that money not to build hospitals and opportunity or economic development or anything, they are using it to buy weaponry, to build tunnels. so people, yes, are upset in gaza, they are under a horrible terrorist regime. you want to talk about our values? in gaza, flowing lgbtq people off rooftops. marrying ten—year—old girl to 30—year—old men. —— clothing—macroing. we are talking about an extreme islamist regimes. we are not talking about a regular society. we are talking about a society run by people who want to put the world back 500 years. they don't want it. they talk about the complete annihilation of israel. , 2, ., about the complete annihilation of israel. , . ,, . ,, . israel. they talk in anti-semitic terms. israel. they talk in anti-semitic terms- sure. — israel. they talk in anti-semitic terms. sure, but— israel. they talk in anti-semitic terms. sure, but you _ israel. they talk in anti-semitic terms. sure, but you talk- israel. they talk in anti-semiticj terms. sure, but you talk about israel. they talk in anti-semitic - terms. sure, but you talk about them being controlled by hamas, but there are tens of thousands of people who do feel a sense of hopelessness, they don't have opportunities. absolutely. a, they don't have opportunities. absolutely-— they don't have opportunities. absolutel. ., ., . , ., ., absolutely. a lot of that is to do with the fact _ absolutely. a lot of that is to do with the fact they _ absolutely. a lot of that is to do with the fact they are _ absolutely. a lot of that is to do with the fact they are not - absolutely. a lot of that is to do with the fact they are not free i absolutely. a lot of that is to do | with the fact they are not free to leave, given opportunities to go to university elsewhere, not given permission to go. that's not all down to hamas, is it? fit permission to go. that's not all down to hamas, is it? of course it is. it down to hamas, is it? of course it is- it hamas _ down to hamas, is it? of course it is. it hamas was _ down to hamas, is it? of course it is. it hamas was a _ down to hamas, is it? of course it is. it hamas was a government - down to hamas, is it? of course it i is. it hamas was a government israel could have normal relations with... why do you think israel has a blockade on gaza? look what happens with the weaponry and even with a blockade. what would actually happen if gaza was open and free to all of the genocidal regimes of the world that wanted to attack israel, as a first stop to destroying the west? everything that israel does is in self defence. we are constantly sending humanitarian aid into gaza. we have hundreds of children that come to israel for medical treatment. we do it everyday, not because we are obliged to, but because we are obliged to, but because that's who we are. the buck does not stop with us when you are talking about the frustration the poverty and misery in gaza. they have a government that was elected and the whole world should make that government accountable. thank and the whole world should make that government accountable.— live now to ourjerusalem bureau chiefjo floto. he can bring us the latest. since i spoke to you a couple of hours ago, we have had a statement from the prime minister benjamin netanyahu. bring us up on what he has been saying. he bring us up on what he has been sa inc. 2, , , bring us up on what he has been sa ini. . , , , . , saying. he has been summarising aaain that saying. he has been summarising again that the _ saying. he has been summarising again that the country _ saying. he has been summarising again that the country is - saying. he has been summarising again that the country is in - saying. he has been summarising again that the country is in a - saying. he has been summarising | again that the country is in a state of war. he says, we will take revenge on hamas for this black day. he is preparing the population, and sending a very clear message to israel's enemies that they are going to hit them very, very hard indeed in the coming days and weeks. we have seen a military build—up beginning already. a lot of this comes after the entire country's reeling in shock at the level of this infiltration. the military are saying hundreds of militants have infiltrated israel, and the fighting is still ongoing. they still have not retaken some of the military posts on the frontier between gaza and israel, and there are still hostage crises as we speak unfolding in the small towns near the gaza border. 2, 2, �* in the small towns near the gaza border. . . �* . ., border. yeah, and we've heard from prime minister _ border. yeah, and we've heard from prime minister netanyahu _ border. yeah, and we've heard from prime minister netanyahu saying . border. yeah, and we've heard from. prime minister netanyahu saying that they are giving the full force of whatever it takes to bring the situation under control. the fear is what will it take, where could this end up? taste what will it take, where could this end u? ~ 2, what will it take, where could this end u? ~ . . . what will it take, where could this endu? . . . . , end up? we are in uncharted waters to some extent, _ end up? we are in uncharted waters to some extent, because _ end up? we are in uncharted waters to some extent, because of - end up? we are in uncharted waters to some extent, because of those . to some extent, because of those hostages. prime minister netanyahu did warn hamas against harming any of those people who have been taken back into gaza. we understand that could be dozens of people, both military and civilians who have been grabbed by this extraordinary militant operation today, and are now back in gaza. we have seen video of families being bundled onto vehicles and taken across. also with looted mountain bikes and toys and other household items. we have seen children in that effort, we have seen people marched down the streets of these tiny towns on the gaza frontier. this is a terrifying ordeal for civilians next to the gaza strip, but also it is a humiliating military defeat today for the israeli army. this is exactly what hamas have always proposed that they would do, which was to end the war into israeli civilian homes, by infiltrating, by getting out of the gaza strip, heavily fortified border. they were not supposed to be able to do this. this is what the military have the israeli population couldn't happen, and it happened today. and in considerable numbers. hundreds taking positions inside israel and using powered parachutes to get into the air, they have used boats, they have driven dozens of motorbikes through holes in the fence, and attacked about 22 different locations around the border. what attacked about 22 different locations around the border. what do we understand _ locations around the border. what do we understand about _ locations around the border. what do we understand about the _ locations around the border. what do we understand about the ongoing - we understand about the ongoing operation in gaza, where at least 230 people have been killed and thousands injured? so 230 people have been killed and thousands injured?— 230 people have been killed and thousands injured? thousands in'ured? so this is the initial phase — thousands injured? so this is the initial phase of _ thousands injured? so this is the initial phase of what _ thousands injured? so this is the initial phase of what promises i thousands injured? so this is the initial phase of what promises to | thousands injured? so this is the i initial phase of what promises to be quite a bloody and drawn—out conflict. the israeli air force are hitting targets that they associate with hamas. some of them may well be significant military installations. others mayjust be owned by hamas. make no mistake, there is a great deal of political pressure to be seen to act, and they are striking hard across the whole of the strip. that has led, as we have seen, to a very rapid increase in casualties. the military has also said it is draughting thousands of soldiers into the regions. they have already moved in a couple of dozen battalions and three brigades are moving in as well. that means they are preparing to hit on the ground in a very concerted way. that won't happen immediately. these things take time to plan. but the prime minister benjamin netanyahu said they will go in and destroy hamas' capability. hamas in response said, that's exactly what we want, come in and we are ready for you. they also highlighted the fact they have hostages which they wish to swap, to do a deal, to release some of their prisoners in israeli jails. how this plays out, no one knows at the moment. israel has never had to deal with this number of hostages. they have been taken in the past in ones and twos, and eventually israel has done a deal to release prisoners. but it has never had to face this. there are civilians, families, we think there may be children involved, and we have also seen a number of israeli soldiers who have been taken back into the gaza strip, again to be used as bargaining chips. but tonight in the gaza strip, there is a massive bombardment ongoing through the night, and we don't expect that to stop soon. jo. night, and we don't expect that to sto soon. , ., ., night, and we don't expect that to step soon-— stop soon. jo, for the people in gaza, stop soon. jo, for the people in gaza. there _ stop soon. jo, for the people in gaza, there is _ stop soon. jo, for the people in gaza, there is nowhere - stop soon. jo, for the people in gaza, there is nowhere to i stop soon. jo, for the people in j gaza, there is nowhere to hide, stop soon. jo, for the people in i gaza, there is nowhere to hide, is there? ~ , ., ., ., there? absolutely not. it one of the most densely _ there? absolutely not. it one of the most densely populated _ there? absolutely not. it one of the most densely populated places i there? absolutely not. it one of the most densely populated places on l most densely populated places on earth. it is somewhere that people had become accustomed over the last couple of years to hoping for a better way of life. we had an increase in tension in the past few weeks, in which hamas had encouraged protests by the border fence. weeks, in which hamas had encouraged protests by the borderfence. we were led to believe this is part of a negotiation that they wanted her one more money, more assistance from qatar and egypt, and more permits to allow workers to cross into israel and earn money to keep up the standard of living. we have been told the threshold for military action was quite high, because no one wished to risk an improving humanitarian situation in gaza. well, all of that appears to have been a ruse, and the hamas leadership have ordered this huge assault, knowing what the result would be. the islamic resistance movement, this is what they are about. they are built, they are born and they exist in order to fight israel. so at some point, they needed to refresh their credentials in the resistance movement and that is what we have seen today. taste is what we have seen today. we are auoin to is what we have seen today. we are going to hear _ is what we have seen today. we are going to hear from _ is what we have seen today. we are going to hear from president i is what we have seen today. we are going to hear from president biden| going to hearfrom president biden in a moment, to play his statement, but i want to ask you about what he said about a warning to any country hostile to israel not to take advantage of this situation. a few hours ago, concerned about this possibly widening out as a conflict. what do you make of his warning and the possibility that other countries could get involved? the the possibility that other countries could get involved?— the possibility that other countries could get involved? the main focus of this morning _ could get involved? the main focus of this morning is _ could get involved? the main focus of this morning is directed - could get involved? the main focus of this morning is directed at i could get involved? the main focus of this morning is directed at the i of this morning is directed at the country to israel's north, lebanon, where hezbollah', huge islamic militant organisation, they have already signalled their for hamas. you will remember back in 2006, israel fought a 3k day bloody war against hezbollah' after they infiltrated israel and sent some of its soldiers across the border. they ended up being dead. that was an incredibly bloody war, thousands were killed in lebanon, and about 160 killed in israel. the concern is hezbollah's going to want to start a war northern front, and the israeli military today have been pushing very hard that they are prepared for that in the eventuality it happened, but also warning that the consequences would be dire. resident biden has weighed in on the same issue. because were that to happen, and hezbollah's essentially a proxy for iran, they receive huge amounts of funding from them, we would risk entering a catastrophic regional war with massive consequences for the civilian populations in several countries. civilian populations in several countries-— civilian populations in several countries. , . . countries. jo, it is late at night there, countries. jo, it is late at night there.11.21._ countries. jo, it is late at night there.11.21. i— countries. jo, it is late at night there, 11.21, 1 don't— countries. jo, it is late at night there, 11.21, i don't know i countries. jo, it is late at night there, 11.21, i don't know if i countries. jo, it is late at night| there, 11.21, i don't know if you have had the chance to talk to ordinary israelis but what is the mood there? it’s ordinary israelis but what is the mood there?— ordinary israelis but what is the mood there? �*, , , ,, mood there? it's complete shock. the stories coming — mood there? it's complete shock. the stories coming out _ mood there? it's complete shock. the stories coming out in _ mood there? it's complete shock. the stories coming out in the _ mood there? it's complete shock. the stories coming out in the israeli i stories coming out in the israeli media, people glued to the —— people glued to the television. people celebrating today with family and then they have been watching as their co—nationals in the south of their co—nationals in the south of the country are in doing the unthinkable, the nightmare scenario, opening their small curtains —— opening their small curtains —— opening their small curtains —— opening their curtains in small towns and seeing militants taking people hostage. we have seen this, a party being organised in the field next to gaza, a huge earth dance event with thousands of participants, revellers there marking the end of the holiday. they were caught up in this this morning, and they were overwhelmed by militants. we at the bbc spoke to one of the eyewitnesses there, and they said they heard gunfire coming, everyone ran and took cover, but they were overwhelmed. these gunmen just started shooting. this woman who we interviewed took cover in a ditch and for two hours, she heard the shooting and the killing and the voices of the hamas militants, before any help arrived. people have watched this and seen this happening and then seen the images of people being grabbed and put onto motorbikes, the back of trucks, and driven back into gaza. it is difficult to overstate the level of shockin difficult to overstate the level of shock in this country, the level of outrage, the level of sadness and concern for those people. relatives have been tracking their loved ones using phone tracking devices that most people have on their phones. seeing these dots on their maps moving into the gaza strip. this is a national trauma and it's not going to be over soon, and it's not going to be over soon, and it's not going to be over until those hostages are all accounted for. and that is a very, very difficult thing to achieve. but that will be the focus of the government and the military in the days and weeks to come. jo in jerusalem. — in the days and weeks to come. jo in jerusalem, thank _ in the days and weeks to come. jo in jerusalem, thank you _ in the days and weeks to come. jo in jerusalem, thank you very much for continuing to update us late into the night there. us presidentjoe biden gave this statement. the people of israel are under attack, orchestrated by a terrorist organisation, hamas. in this moment of tragedy i want to say to them and to the world, and to terrorists everywhere, that the united states stands with israel. we will not ever fail to have their back. we will make sure that they have the help that citizens need and that they can continue to defend themselves. now, the world has seen appalling images. thousands of rockets, in the space of hours, raining down on israeli cities. i got up this morning at 7.30, eight o'clock, my calls, hamas terrorists crossing into israel, killing not only israeli soldiers but israeli civilians. in the streets and in their homes. innocent people, murdered and wounded, entire families taken hostage by hamas. just days after israel marked the holiest of days in the jewish calendar. it's unconscionable. you know, when i spoke with prime minister netanyahu this morning, i told him the united states stands with the people of israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop. there is neverjustification for terrorist attacks and my administration's support for israel's security is rock—solid and unwavering. let me say this as clearly as i can. this is not a moment for any party hostile to israel to exploit these attacks, to seek advantage. the world is watching. i have also been in contact with the king ofjordan, spoke with members of congress, directed my national security team to engage with their israeli counterparts, military to military, intelligence to intelligence, diplomat to diplomat, to make sure that israel has what it needs. i have also directed my team to remain in constant contact with leaders throughout the region, including egypt, turkey, qatar, saudi arabia, jordan, oman, the uae, as well as our european partners and the palestinian authority. it is also a terrible tragedy on a human level. hurting innocent people. seeing the lives that have been broken by this, the families torn apart, it's heartbreaking. jill and i are praying for those families that have been impacted by this violence. we grieve with those who have lost loved ones, lost a piece of their soul. we have hope for a swift recovery for many of the wounded. we will remain in close touch with the prime minister, and i will personally maintain close contact with prime minister netanyahu as this situation continues to develop. and let there be no mistake. the united states stands with the state of israel, just as we have from the moment when the united states became the first nation to recognise israel, 11 minutes after its founding 75 years ago. thank you very much. mustafa barghouti who's general secretary of the palestinian national initiative has given me his perspective. he is in the west bank. it's an unprecedented israeli failure, for sure. taken by surprise. it is really amazing how unprepared israel was. given that it is the most monitored area in the world, probably. but the attacks from gaza came as a response to many things. first of all, we are under israeli military occupation for 56 years now. and the world is doing nothing to end that occupation. that occupation has transformed into the worst system of apartheid ever, much worse than what they are in south africa. and more than that, netanyahu stood up in the united nations, raised a map of israel that included all of the west bank, all of the gaza strip. as well as the golan heights. and his government has been declaring that they have no intention whatsoever to talk to palestinians, to have peace with palestinians. their main goal is to occupy the palestinian territories including the west bank and gaza. and in addition to that, one last point, the attacks on muslim and christian holy sites by israel. that is a reaction to this horrible situation for palestinians. israel would say that its actions in gaza are against militants trying to destroy its country. what are hamas in your view trying to achieve by these actions today? first of all, i don't think it is right to accept what israel claims. at the end of the day, we are not the ones occupying gaza. israel is occupying us. we are not oppressing, israelis are repressing us, and for a very long time. israel would say you elected hamas, which is an organisation committed to the destruction of israel, and therefore they have to implement security. that's what they would say. but i want to ask you specifically about hamas' actions today. do you support them? what do you think they will achieve? i don't think that the way that israel describes how it is correct, they want to have an end of the israeli occupation. find they want to have an end of the israeli occupation.— they want to have an end of the israeli occupation. and what they have done is _ israeli occupation. and what they have done is an _ israeli occupation. and what they have done is an act _ israeli occupation. and what they have done is an act to _ israeli occupation. and what they have done is an act to try - israeli occupation. and what they have done is an act to try and i have done is an act to try and change that. they have destroyed the israeli intention of liquidating the palestinian cause and palestinian rights, you by normalising with the arab countries at the expense of the palestinian people. and they are actually uniting all palestinians behind the resistance. at the end of the day... inaudible if israel wanted peace, why it doesn't end the occupation? are do palestinians have the right to defend themselves like israel has the right to defend themselves? you at the end of the day, the question is simple. are we equal to israel or not? i don't want anybody to be killed or lose their lives, but it is the reality that we are the ones who are occupied. 200 israelis killed in this attack model. ., . , . , ., model. you have explained your justification _ model. you have explained your justification why _ model. you have explained your justification why they _ model. you have explained your justification why they are - model. you have explained your justification why they are doing l model. you have explained your i justification why they are doing it, but what do you think they want as a result? , , . , result? their deputy had 'ust declared... i result? their deputy had 'ust declared... that i result? their deputy had 'ust declared... that their i result? their deputy had just declared... that their goal, l result? their deputy had just i declared... that their goal, they are not ready to accept a two state solution if israel ends its occupation, but after this moment, 1170 palestinians are killed. 50. occupation, but after this moment, 470 palestinians are killed.- 1170 palestinians are killed. so, let me ask 470 palestinians are killed. so, let me ask you — 470 palestinians are killed. so, let me ask you this. _ 470 palestinians are killed. so, let me ask you this. it _ 470 palestinians are killed. so, let me ask you this. it was _ 470 palestinians are killed. so, let me ask you this. it was very i 470 palestinians are killed. so, let me ask you this. it was very clear. me ask you this. it was very clear that, as soon as hamas launched these attacks, that there would be retaliatory action by israel and that many palestinians would be killed. what is your reaction to that, are those deaths justifiable in this conflict? no death, but let me tell you, 248 palestinians were killed by israeli settlers in the west bank, not in gaza. but in response to those attacks in gaza, palestinians have been killed. nobody did anything to stop israel... but the israeli game is to claim palestinians are killed because of hamas. palestinians are killed because... inaudible please, just one moment, one word. i believe the responsibility for killing palestinians and israelis and the continuation of this conflict is a situation which should end as soon as possible. lats conflict is a situation which should end as soon as possible.— end as soon as possible. lots of videos have _ end as soon as possible. lots of videos have been _ end as soon as possible. lots of videos have been posted - end as soon as possible. lots of videos have been posted on i end as soon as possible. lots of l videos have been posted on social media during the day. the bbc verify team have been checking them out. our correspondentjon donnison is in the bbc verify hub with more. we've spent today here in the bbc verify hub, just looking at all the images that are starting to emerge on this story. now let's just start here and we've had a lot of footage today, i ffootage today, especially this morning, showing those barrages of rockets being fired out of gaza into israel. we can move on to this map now, and here we're getting a picture now of all the events and mapping out where those palestinian attacks within israel have been taking place. and every location marked with a red square there is where we've been able to verify one piece of footage of attacks from militants. some of these are missile strikes. some of them are active shootings by militants who've infiltrated into israel. and some show the aftermath of battles with images which we think are too graphic to show. we've got correspondents reporting from the scene, but using some of the technology here, we've been able to verify some extraordinary footage. our investigative journalists have been able to see the pattern that the hamas fighters have used in today's attack, taking as many hostages as possible, which is unusual. now, the most disturbing content is of hostages being taken and paraded on the streets. some of that content we've seen is distressing and we've chosen not to show it. but we do think it's important to build up a picture of what's happening on the ground using the verification tools that we've got. so let's just have a look now at this. now you can see this blackjeep. now, within the back of this jeep, there is an israeli hostage. this was filmed on the outskirts of gaza in the sheikh jarrah neighbourhood. we've edited this video, but we want to show you what we think is happening. in this clip there's a woman who looks like she's been badly beaten. her hands are tied behind her back. she's barefooted and she's dragged out of thatjeep by her hair and bundled into the back by armed men and then driven off. now, a spokesperson for the israeli defense forces has confirmed that soldiers and civilians have been abducted by militants. let's move on to something different now. this is footage from the aftermath of an all—night "nature party" near kibbutz rahim in israel. now, these are people running across the desert in panic. presumably they've heard sirens, that sort of thing. and our team injerusalem have spoken to some of those who were at the event. there's other footage coming to us into the building. our team of experts have been able to verify. let's just have a look at this now. now, this is the border itself being destroyed. this is a bulldozer being used by palestinian militants. it's appeared on snapchat and it's got a caption, "our heroes bulldozers remove the wire from the border". now, this is at the northern end of the gaza strip. it's right next to the erez checkpoint, which is one of the main ways in and out of gaza. i've crossed through it many times myself. and we're also starting to build up a picture of the response by the israeli security forces. this is in the city of ashkelon, just north of the gaza strip. and here you can see what we think are israeli military or police patrolling the streets. you can see otherwise the streets are pretty quiet. now, let's just move on to something a little bit different. this here... ..is fairly extraordinary footage of two israeli fighterjets being towed away from the border area near gaza. we've been able to geo—locate the towns of arad and arara by the negev. we saw the road signs with those names on and they're located due east of gaza. the road layout, the signage and traffic lights match those seen on street view. so we were able to work out where it was, and it's thought they were planes that were being moved after israeli air bases near gaza were evacuated. and finally, let's just have a look at this. this is drone footage from the military wing of hamas, the al-qassam brigades. it's pretty sophisticated, as you can see. and it shows a drone strike on an unmanned israeli machine gun post. you just saw the explosion there. it's right on the border between israel and gaza. and you can see that that was a pretty sophisticated attack and some pretty sophisticated media operation, too, from hamas. we will continue here to work with our team of experts building up a picture as this conflict continues. earlier, we spoke to jotam confino, thejewish news foreign editor based in tel aviv. where i am, i have not seen it, but i have heard massive explosions over me. that happens every time the missile defence system shoots down the rockets. it sounds like an earthquake. the sound travels through all the buildings around you. it is very loud. it is a very scary situation to be in a bomb shelter waiting. i would say that normally, rockets, israelis are used to, but to have hundreds of hamas terrorists roaming the streets in southern israel for 12 hours is unprecedented. this is really what causes panic among israelis. they are afraid this is going to happen all across israel. obviously, the idf is trying to get the situation under control, but it is not resolved yet. it is still ongoing. i was just in a military briefing with the idf�*s spokesperson who said that as we are talking the idf is engaged in two separate hostage situations and they are fighting hamas members in other locations. so, people are still holding their breath to see what the night brings and the coming days. what else did they say in a briefing? basically, they said that they are mobilising forces in the north also, trying to make sure... making sure that they are ready for any attack that may come from the north as a precaution. and, in general, they are hitting hamas, but they also suspect, i'm not sure if you could hear that loud boom, there may mean there's a siren coming. but the idf spokesperson said that they are hitting hamas, holding them responsible for this. we do know that islamichhad are also taking part in this, they claim that they have taken hostages. right now you can hear sirens far away. you hear booms. i do not know if you can hear it. it's quite loud for me. and now there is a siren, i am going to have to run now. stay safe. we can stay live, if you want. i am just going into the bomb shelter. we are happy to stay live as long as you are happy to. i am happy to. call off when you need to. what happens when you hear that noise? what happens is basically, people come running, they come down from their apartments. they come to these front stairs. sound distorted it is the same people i have been seeing all day. and the people don't have any shelters in the houses, so that's why... and this is likely to happen for the rest of the evening and maybe tomorrow, hopefully... it's just chaos, as you can see. there are about 12 people here. i want you to notice one thing though,... inaudible when we hear air strikes, they arejust hiding under the beds, their situation is much, much worse. we just have to mention, people sometimes forget. there are many people who do not have the luxury of a bomb shelter like we do. not to underestimate our situation, but we are lucky that we are relatively safe and that there is a military missile defence system which shoots down most rockets. a good point yotan, most israeli buildings do have a shelter or a designated room within the home, don't they? a safe room specially reinforced. and gaza is so densely packed. they are coming under a barrage tonight. we are hoping to speak to our reporter in gaza later tonight. it is difficult to re—establish communications. keep describing what is happening now. are you in a basement, in a special room? where do you go to, when you hear a siren? this is not even a bomb shelter it isjust... it is not a bomb shelter, but it serves as a bomb shelter in emergency situations. i would say that in tel aviv, many places do not have bomb shelters, it's a huge issue. in the south they have really invested a lot in this. it happens more. other areas have no bomb shelters... inaudible the death toll, sadly, we have heard, over the past half hour or so, 200 israelis killed in these attacks. this is unprecedented in your country, isn't it? absolutely. first of all... inaudible that is just madness. we will know in the morning that it's a high death toll. we saw reports of hamas terrorists shooting indiscriminately against civilians on our streets, and also... sorry... we saw people, we heard of people in villages, talking about hamas, the terrorists, going door—to—door shooting and killing civilians. so, obviously, we knew the death toll was going to be more than ten or 20, but 200 is a lot, and more than 1000 injured. again, a very unprecedented situation. i assume that that death toll will rise because the situation is not yet under control. i wasjoined in our studio by security correspondent frank gardner and our chief international correspondent lyse doucet — here's what they said. most israelis i've spoken to have been very honest about it, saying, you know, we are absolutely staggered at this because as he said, this has taken place on the last day of a jewish holiday. simchat torah, at the end of the second holiday and the 50th anniversary. well, exactly. it's an exact parallel of 50 years ago when israel's arab neighbours, who had then were its enemies, took advantage of israel having its guard lowered to attack them at a time of a religious holiday. they've done the same thing. but i think the bigger question, which is getting israelis to scratch their heads right now, is how with all of these resources, with satellite surveillance, with informants inside militant groups, with cameras, with ground sensor cameras, with military patrols, regularly knowing that hamas hates the ground they walk on, did israel not predict this? did they not see this coming? think of all the preparations that must have been needed to amass five, maybe 7000 rockets, all these people, the bulldozers. and yet hamas was able to keep this secret, in a place that is one of the most densely populated areas in on the planet. they kept it secret somehow, or at least if they didn't, nobody did anything about it. so i remember the last time when hostilities broke out. well, it was all about destroying the tunnels. yes, destroying the tunnels. well, how else did they, how did israel not keep an eye? how did it lose sight? was obviously finding ways to surreptitiously bring in it either has to come from egypt or it has to come from israel. i mean, they do produce a lot of stuff in sort of back street workshops. you know, there is a flourishing industry and a lot of these rockets are very low tech. i mean, the initial barrage, we were told there was one israeli woman dead, killed after thousands had been launched, which gives you some idea, i mean, compared to the ordnance that's being used in ukraine, where every single pretty much every shell and drone, you know, has multiple casualties. it at first seemed it wasn't too bad. but now we know, of course, it's a lot more. and just describe because israel has this famous iron dome, its protection system, as it were, which is usually pretty infallible, isn't it? describe how that works and why it hasn't been able to stop this huge barrage of rockets today. i haven't seen the exact map of where the iron dome is protecting, but i mean, certainly, you know, they are no strangers down in ashkelon of incoming rocket fire from gaza. but there were long range weapons as well that were used, some of which have got through and hit buildings in tel aviv. so i think it's the sheer force of numbers, plus the fact that obviously they had a skeleton staff on duty in air defense and in intelligence. you know, they were asleep at the wheel and investigations have already been started, but the findings won't come out for quite some time. i mean, they've got bigger priorities right now, which is to resolve the hostage crisis that they have got, you've got dozens of israelis held at gunpoint, some military, some civilian. that's a massive bargaining chip for hamas if it chooses to do that. i mean, you know, god forbid that, you know, something happens in cold blood. but i mean, it's a really delicate situation right now. and meanwhile, of course, gaza is getting pounded. it's hard to believe that it's going to be purely military deaths. there will be civilian casualties on both sides. and we're looking at pictures of gaza now. and there has been a huge number of rockets we know already flying overfrom israel, attacking certain targets there. at least 200 people, we understand, killed in those attacks. lyse, just put this bit more into context for us as well. describe gaza for us. it's extremely densely populated. there's very few places for people to hide. they've experienced things like this before, of course, when this conflict has escalated. but an extremely terrifying time for them. terrifying time, but it's always a very, very difficult time. it is basically impoverished. also, even though israel likes to say that it withdrew from gaza many years ago, the gazans are not in control of their borders, the air, the sea. they're still circumscribed by israeli restrictions, israeli forces, israeli rules and israel controls what goes in and out. and sometimes they let more in, sometimes less. so there's growing, growing anger. there was recently a story about that the vast majority of gazans students who get scholarships to study abroad cannot take advantage of them because they simply cannot get out. they, the people of gaza, have long described it as the world's biggest, biggest prison, to which the israelis would say, well, then why are you allowing yourself to be led by the men who rule by the gun? the resistance of hamas and the people of gaza know that as bad as it was, it's now going to get much worse. but what we're hearing from some gazans today is they're saying we knew there was going to be some kind of a hamas operation, even though israel was taken by surprise. and they say our situation is so bad that we have nothing to lose. yeah, and that's certainly what i was hearing from one local resident, very angry about the conditions that they live in. and many are saying, well, this is what has really weaponized the people. they're being used almost as weapons, the youth of gaza, because they feel so desolate, so hopeless in their situation. do you think, though, you say hamas were elected, how much support do they have within the territory? politically and militarily? it's impossible to say with any certainty. there's no public opinion polls which are with any authority which are conducted inside the gaza strip. they are basically trapped there and trapped with this leadership and when it comes to war, the support they will rally around hamas in the same way that israelis who have been deeply divided over the way forward, you know, we've been covering these massive protests. reservist soldiers saying they're not going to serve because they are so upset with the direction of israeli policies under this very, very right—wing government. but the israelis will pull together and the gazans will pull together. and too the palestinians of the west bank, we've heard from the palestinian leader, mahmoud abbas, that he basically has supported what has been happening today. they have no other choice. it is starkly drawn, the divisions even more — drawn in blood. there is an irony here as well with america, because in around 2006, the us state department said, do you know what? it's time for a rethink in the middle east — we've been backing autocratic regimes, strong regimes. we need to turn our heads to democracy. we need to have more democracy in the middle east. so what have they got? they got to they got an election in the palestinian territories and they got the result that they didn't like at all, hamas. but that's what the people voted for. and in saudi arabia, they hold kind of mini municipal elections in which the islamists who were all anti western, triumphed. so that kind of the state department was pretty quiet about elections after that. you know, that's really was the beginning of the decline, i think, in gaza's fortunes, because they elected an organization which does not accept the existence of the state of israel. and it's terribly sad that, whenever there looks like being progress in terms of some kind of a peace deal, some kind of a compromise, an act of violence willjeopardize it. and both sides said, that's it — we're so angry we're not going to have negotiations now. i spoke to shadow foreign secretary david lammy, he gave me his reaction to the situation in israel. cani can i condemn these appalling attacks and the loss of life in israel today? this is penis terrorist activity. men, women and children have lost their lives, and there are hostages. and we wait to see what will happen to them. we unequivocally support israel's right to self defence at this very challenging time.- to self defence at this very challenging time. to self defence at this very challenauin time. 2 . , , ., challenging time. what support do ou believe challenging time. what support do you believe the _ challenging time. what support do you believe the uk _ challenging time. what support do you believe the uk government i challenging time. what support do i you believe the uk government should be offering israel at this time? £31 be offering israel at this time? of course, i have been speaking to colleagues in israel, many of them are hiding in their homes, and i am quite sure that the foreign secretary has spoken to the israeli ambassador here in london, as indeed i have. britain stands in support of our allies facing terrorist threats. of course one without the response is proportionate and within international law, but this is an escalating, live situation with hostages taken, and my heart goes out to families on both sides that are suffering today. trite out to families on both sides that are suffering today.— out to families on both sides that are suffering today. we are looking at the live shot _ are suffering today. we are looking at the live shot over _ are suffering today. we are looking at the live shot over gaza - are suffering today. we are looking at the live shot over gaza and i are suffering today. we are looking at the live shot over gaza and we i at the live shot over gaza and we understand nearly 200 people have been killed in retaliatory israeli strikes. what is your reaction to that when you look at what you call a proportionate response by israel? i am quite sure that that response is targeted at hamas, and let's remember that they they are a terrorist organisation. there has been tremendous loss of palestinian life in this last year, and of course there is further loss as a result of these rocket attacks. it is important that is hostages are handed back. it is important that territory seized is handed back. that is what will bring cessation to the violence we have seen overnight. do you believe that willie could lead to a cessation? how concerned are you of an escalation, the likes of which we may not have seen, given this conflict and how long it has gone on for, for many decades? it is very important that the international community come together to condemn this attack. i see of course that there is now going to be a very important un meeting, a closed meeting, on gaza tomorrow. this is a live situation, and it is ongoing with hostages taken and rockets flying. i do not want to speculate. what do you hope comes out of that meeting at un? we need calm and cool heads. all of us recognise the tremendous challenges in gaza and the west bank, and of course, we all recognise those challenges, in broader israel. let us remember that this has taken place during a festival. 50 years from the yom kippur war. we do not want to see a continuing loss of life, and it cannot be right to terrorise people in their own land, and to take women and children in this way. david lammy talking to me earlier. for the latest updates on the situation in israel and in gaza head to our live page on the bbc news website. trite to our live page on the bbc news website. ~ 2, to our live page on the bbc news website. ~ . . , ., website. we will have the latest for ou in 'ust website. we will have the latest for you in just a — website. we will have the latest for you in just a couple _ website. we will have the latest for you in just a couple of _ website. we will have the latest for you in just a couple of minutes i website. we will have the latest for| you in just a couple of minutes here on bbc news. it's hello. rarely do we see a day of what a contrast is stark as though we saw during saturday. across many parts of scotland we have huge amounts of rain, flooding and disruption. we have this met office amber warning in force for the best part of sunday morning but this new warning stretching from aberdeenshire up towards inverness, this warning is in force until tpm on sunday with further flooding and disruption likely. this is the rain we had on saturday. it was relentless. over 100 millimetres in places and some spots in the north of scotland only got to seven sources, compare that with 25 in south—east england, where it was the warmest october day we have seen in five years. in sunday this frontal system plaguing parts of scotland with outbreaks of rain, the focus for the heaviest rain shifts further and east, with some rain still through the central belt causing further problems, southern scotland looking drier with some sunshine. quite murky for some western coasts of england and wales. and more clatter eastern coast too. we should broadly speaking see some spells of sunshine on what will be another very warm day for the time of year, at around 25 celsius, not as cold across the north of scotland. heading through sunday night, we will still see some bits and pieces of rain through scotland are heading into northern ireland but generally it will turn a bit drier, quite windy in the far north, quite mild as we start monday morning with some areas of low cloud, mist and fog for these western coasts and some of that could linger as we go through the day. scotland, certainly drierthan it has been although this little line of rain could just plague the south—west of scotland from time to time. temperatures 13 in stornoway, still 211 in london. moving deeper into the week, that warmth is set to be swept away. a frontal system pushing spread south and east through the middle of the week, heavy rain with that, and behind it something cooler, something more like we would expect at this time of year. i mainly dry, warm started the week things will change from mid week things will change from mid week onwards. live from london. this is bbc news. an unprecedented escalation of violence — israeli air strikes continue to pound gaza after palestinian militants launch a surprise attack. fighting is still ongoing at 22 separate locations on israeli territory after a barrage of rockets from gaza. israel confirms a number of its soldiers and civilians have been taken hostage. prime minister netanyahu will take vengeance for this black day. local reports say at least 200 israelisand more than 230 israelis and more than 230 palestinians have been killed in this latest wave of strikes. president biden says his support for israel is rock solid. the united states stands with israel. we will not ever fail to have their back. we will make sure they have the help their citizens need, to continue to defend themselves. hello. dozens of israeli soldiers and civilians are being held hostage, as part of an unprecedented attack by palestinian militants on israeli territory. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says his country is at war. his government claims the palestinian militant group hamas launched more than 2,000 rockets into the country, killing at least 200 people, and wounding nearly1,000. officials in the gaza strip say at least 232 people have been killed