Israel-Hamas war live: Biden calls for ‘pause’ in conflict as the US promises more foreign nationals will exit Gaza in the coming days | Israel-Hamas war

Ben Doherty

A spokesperson for an Australian family of four who managed to escape through Gaza into Egypt on Wednesday said crossing the heavily militarised checkpoint had taken hours and was “nerve-racking”.

The family was “exhausted” and travelling to a hotel in Egypt before their expected repatriation to Australia out of Cairo.

“They are incredibly grateful to the Australian government and to everyone who has assisted and advocated for their evacuation,” the spokesperson said.

The family remains extremely concerned for the lives of their loved ones in Gaza. They have left behind ill, elderly parents, who have run out of essential medication. They have left behind siblings, nieces and nephews who are petrified and want a chance at a normal life in safety. They may never see their family again. Parting with them prior to crossing the border was distressing and something no family should have to endure.”

The spokesperson said the family was asking the Australian government to bring their loved ones to safety as well as other Australian Palestinians.

The family had previously told Guardian Australia they feared they would not survive the bombardment of Israeli airstrikes, one of which destroyed their family’s home.

Australia’s foreign minister confirmed 20 Australian citizens were able to cross the border out of Gaza, along with a permanent resident and two family members.

Officials say there are 65 Australians still stuck in Gaza and that they are being provided with consular assistance.

The main generator at the Indonesian hospital in Gaza went out of service on Wednesday night, according to the head of the hospital, Dr Atef Al Kahlout, who was speaking to CNN.

Ashraf Al-Qudra, a spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry, said in a televised news conference on Thursday that the main power generator at the hospital was no longer functioning due to lack of fuel.

He said that the hospital was switching to a back-up generator but would no longer be able to power mortuary refrigerators and oxygen generators.

“If we don’t get fuel in the next few days, we will inevitably reach a disaster,” he said.

Since the conflict began, Israel has refused to let humanitarian convoys bring in fuel, citing concern that Hamas fighters would divert it for military purposes.

Last week the Guardian reported that there had been blackouts at the Indonesian hospital after the fuel that powers the generators there had run short.

At least 195 Palestinians were killed in two rounds of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday and Wednesday, a Hamas-run government media office said.

About 120 were still missing under the rubble, and at least 777 more were wounded, the office said in a statement.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it targeted and killed Muhammad A’sar, the commander of Hamas’s anti-tank guided missile array, in the strikes on Wednesday.

The IDF said it had targeted the camp on Tuesday to kill Ibrahim Biari – a key Hamas commander linked to the group’s 7 October attack on Israel who, it said, had taken over civilian buildings in Gaza City with his fighters.

On Wednesday the UN human rights office said Israel’s airstrike on the Jabalia camp on Tuesday could amount to war crimes.

Joe Biden called for a “pause” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza after he was confronted by a protester calling for a ceasefire at a campaign fundraiser.

Biden was speaking to about 200 people when the protester shouted: “As a rabbi, I need you to call for a ceasefire right now.”

Biden responded: “I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out.”

The White House later clarified that Biden was referring to the hostages held by Hamas since its 7 October attack on Israel in which 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage.

The White House has previously said it supports a “humanitarian pause” to allow aid deliveries to Gaza and the release of hostages. Biden has thrown his support behind Israel, but he has shifted his response in recent weeks as the humanitarian situation worsens in Gaza and the civilian death toll rises.

The president has faced intensifying pressure from human rights groups, fellow world leaders and even liberal members of his own Democratic Party, who say that the Israeli bombardment of Gaza is collective punishment and that it is time for a ceasefire.

The difference between a ceasefire and pause may seem semantic, but a pause is generally considered less formal and shorter than a ceasefire.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says at least 8,796 Palestinians – including 3,648 children – have been killed by Israeli strikes since the start of the conflict.

Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas. My name is Jonathan Yerushalmy and I’ll be with you for the next few hours.

Joe Biden has called for a humanitarian “pause” in fighting during a speech in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening. The US president said that a pause means “time to get the prisoners out.” White House officials later clarified he meant hostages and humanitarian aid.

He was speaking after the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened for the first time during the current conflict to allow the evacuation of some injured Palestinians and foreign nationals.

Here’s a summary of the day’s other main events:

• At least 195 Palestinians were killed in two rounds of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday and Wednesday, a Hamas-run government media office said. Israel claims it killed senior Hamas officials both attacks. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said Muhammad A’sar, the commander of Hamas’s anti-tank guided missile array, was targeted in Wednesday’s airstrike.

• The UN human rights office said Israel’s airstrike on Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday could amount to war crimes. The agency said it had “serious concerns” given the “high number of civilian casualties and the scale of destruction” after the strikes. The UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, said the airstrikes were “just the latest atrocity to befall the people of Gaza” and said the world “seems unable, or unwilling, to act”.

• The scale of tragedy in Gaza is “unprecedented”, the commissioner general for the main UN agency in Palestine has said after visiting the besieged territory for the first time since 7 October. Philippe Lazzarini of the UNRWA described his visit to the Gaza Strip as “one of the saddest days in my humanitarian work” and urged a “meaningful” humanitarian response to prevent people in Gaza from dying.

• The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened for the first time on Wednesday, after more than three weeks of brutal conflict to allow the evacuation of dozens of injured Palestinians requiring hospital treatment and hundreds of foreign passport holders. By late Wednesday, at least 335 dual nationals and 76 injured seriously wounded and sick people had crossed the border, with more expected to follow.

• The families of some British citizens trapped in Gaza have said it is devastating that their loved ones have been turned away from the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, as the Foreign Office said the first UK nationals have made it through. It is understood that initially only two of the 500 people on a list of those eligible to leave were British nationals.

• An Australian minister confirmed that 20 Australian nationals had crossed the border at Rafah to exit Gaza on Wednesday. He went on to confirm that there are still 65 Australians stuck in Gaza that the government is “supporting” and are being provided consular assistance.

• US citizens were able to exit Gaza on Wednesday as part of the first group of “probably more than 1,000” people, Joe Biden said. The US president said the opening of the Rafah border crossing to wounded Palestinians and foreign nationals came after “intense and urgent American diplomacy with our partners in the region”. Some American citizens trapped in the Gaza Strip and their families in the US have launched legal action after weeks of desperate and futile attempts to exit the war zone.

• Fifteen Israeli soldiers have been killed amid fierce fighting in Gaza, in a series of incidents that have underlined the mounting challenges facing the IDF in their attempts to push further into built-up areas of Gaza. The heaviest loss of life occurred when a “Namer” armoured personnel carrier was hit at about noon on Tuesday by an anti-tank guided missile, killing 11 soldiers and wounding several more.

• The only cancer treatment hospital in Gaza has gone out of service after it ran out of fuel, health officials said on Wednesday. The director of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship hospital told a press conference: “We tell the world – don’t leave cancer patients to a certain death due to the hospital being out of service.”

• The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 8,796 Palestinians, including 3,648 children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its campaign of airstrikes and incursions. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify figures from either Israeli or Palestinian authorities. The UN’s humanitarian office has reported that at least 123 Palestinians, including 34 children, have been killed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 7 October.