Thousands flee as Israel tightens Gaza City 'stranglehold'

Tens of thousands of Palestinians fled the fighting and bombardment in Gaza, as Israel said it was tightening the "stranglehold" around Hamas and again rejected a ceasefire without the release of hostages.

Calls for a ceasefire to protect civilians have built over a month into the war sparked when Hamas attacked Israel and, according to Israeli officials, killed about 1,400 people, mainly civilians, and seized 239 hostages.

Aiming to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated with a relentless bombardment and ground invasion of the Gaza Strip that, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, has killed more than 10,500 people, many of them children.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected the prospect of a ceasefire in Gaza, amid reports of negotiations for a temporary truce with Hamas to allow in humanitarian aid.

The Israeli army said 50,000 people left north Gaza for the south of the narrow coastal strip on Wednesday as the fighting raged between Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, and Israeli troops.

"We saw today how 50,000 Gazans moved from northern Gaza to southern Gaza," said military spokesman Daniel Hagari. "They're leaving because they understand that Hamas lost control in the north, and in the south it's safer."

Around 15,000 people had fled on Tuesday, compared with 5,000 on Monday and 2,000 on Sunday, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

UN rights chief Volker Turk condemned Israel over the forced evacuations during a visit to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the only way out of the besieged territory that is not controlled by Israel.

"The collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians amounts also to a war crime, as does the unlawful forcible evacuation of civilians," he told a news conference.

"The aid getting through is a trickle," Turk said, adding it was Israel's obligation to "ensure a maximum of basic necessities of life that can reach all who need it."

A Hamas official told AFP that evacuations of wounded Palestinians and dual nationals were interrupted Wednesday despite a large crowd waiting at the crossing terminal, blaming what they said was Israel's refusal to approve the list of wounded to be taken across the border.

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