The UN’s 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 PM dismissed "false rumours" 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 7 October, 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

Türk described the bombardment of the Gaza Strip as putting "an unbearable toll on human lives, on civilians".

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Gaza will need 'Marshall Plan' to become habitable again

It will take months and something resembling a "Marshall Plan" for Gaza to recover after the Israeli war, Nour Odeh, a Palestinian political commentator based in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, says.

The Marshall Plan was a huge aid package the United States sent to Western Europe in the aftermath of World War Two.

The Gaza Strip, which Odeh says is being "decimated", will take months of rebuilding to become habitable again.

Israeli PM 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.

"What Netanyahu is doing right now is buying time for himself because he faces investigations and accountability - even his closest allies in the Israeli media are asking him to step down because he refuses to take responsibility," Odeh told the BBC’s World at One programme. Odeh said there needed to be a political framework “from the world”.

Red Cross in Gaza says aid truck was hit

The head of the International Red Cross's office in Gaza has told the BBC one of its aid convoys delivering medical supplies to the Al-Quds hospital in southern Gaza was hit, leaving one of their truck drivers within “centimetres” of death.

“Frankly, the conditions are not conducive for humanitarians to work right now, let alone to live in,” William Schomburg, who was also a part of the aid convoy, told the BBC’s Newshour programme.

“We need a basic level of safety and supplies. We also need to be able to ensure that we can rotate staff,” he noted, adding that hospitals remain low on fuel, while the search for potable drinking water has become a day to day challenge. “Nowhere in Gaza today is safe,” Schomburg added.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that 50,000 Palestinians fled northern Gaza as its forces once again opened a safe passage on the main north-south road for several hours.

Schomburg described a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the south with droves of “terrified civilians”, including the elderly, barefoot children and pregnant women, looking for food, water, and protection.

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.

Israel began striking Gaza after the Hamas attacks on 7 October, which saw 1,400 people killed and more than 200 taken hostage.

The IDF also confirmed the death of one more soldier taking the number of soldiers killed in the ground offensive to 31.

The Hamas-run health ministry says the number of people killed in Gaza has risen to 10,569 since Israel's retaliatory strikes began.

The second in command of Hezbollah - the powerful Iranian backed militia in Lebanon - says Israel's killing of civilians in Gaza risks causing a wider war in the Middle East.

The Shia Islamist group - classed as a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and the Arab League - is the largest political and military force in Lebanon.

Speaking in Beirut, Sheikh Naim Qassem told the BBC’s Orla Guerin that "very serious and very dangerous developments could occur in the region, and no-one would be able to stop the repercussions".

"The danger is real," he says, "because Israel is increasing its aggression against civilians and killing more women and children. Is it possible for this to continue and increase, without bringing real danger to the region? I think not."

He insists any escalation would be linked to Israel's actions. "Every possibility has a response," he says.

Read more of Orla Guerin’s interview with Sheikh Naim Qassem .