GAZA STRIP – The United Nations’ (UN) human rights commissioner has accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes
Volker Türk cited the continued holding of hostages by Hamas, and what he called Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinian civilians and its unlawful forcible evacuations of parts of Gaza.
Meanwhile UN chief António Guterres says the number of civilians killed in Gaza shows something is “clearly wrong” with Israel’s military operation
Israel says 50,000 Palestinians left the Gaza City area on Wednesday, after its military opened up the main road to southern Gaza
A military spokesperson said people were fleeing because “Hamas has lost control of the north”.
For weeks, Israel has told people in the north of Gaza to head south, saying it is safer, though Hamas-run authorities reported air strikes on Wednesday in both the north and south.
Also on Wednesday, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed “false rumors” after reports that a proposal to release 12 hostages in exchange for a three-day humanitarian pause is under discussion
Israel began striking Gaza after the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, which saw 1,400 people killed and more than 200 taken hostage
More than 10,500 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, including more than 4,300 children.
Netanyahu said his country would have “overall security responsibility” for the Gaza Strip for “an indefinite period” once the fighting was over, in an interview with US channel ABC News.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the military has destroyed 130 Hamas tunnel shafts since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza.
“IDF combat engineers are currently working to expose and destroy Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including tunnels. Water and oxygen storage discovered inside the tunnels indicates Hamas’ preparations for prolonged stays underground,” the IDF said in a statement.
On Wednesday, it said that it had destroyed a Hamas tunnel near a UNRWA-sponsored school in the Beit Hanoun area of northern Gaza.
The IDF made the claim in a statement released Wednesday and also shared a video allegedly showing the destruction “near the school” through a drone camera. (BBC)
