On Saturday 7 October, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, with its fighters entering communities near the Gaza Strip. Although the attack by the Hamas terrorists was unexpected, it came at a time of soaring Israeli-Palestinian tensions. On October 8, Hamas militants carried out a massacre at the Nova music festival in Be'eri, southern Israel, claiming the lives of at least 260 attendees. Around 2,000 people are thought to have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes, with a ground offensive also expected. As of October 14, civilians in northern Gaza began fleeing after Israel issued a warning for them to move south. Follow The Independent’s liveblog here.