50,000 Flee Gaza City (Video)

By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos

JERUSALEM/GAZA (Worthy News) – Israel said that at least 50,000 Palestinians left the besieged Gaza City area 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. Hamas-run authorities have reported air strikes in both the north and south, but it wasn’t clear how reliable those reports were.

The Hamas-run health ministry also said that “10,500 people” have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its operations, yet that declined to say how many Hamas fighters were among them as there have been fierce clashes between both sides.

Hamas-linked authorities also say more than “4,300 children” are among those killed, but those figures were complex to verify in a territory with virtually no press freedom.

The United Nations said Wednesday that the number of civilians killed in Gaza shows something is “clearly wrong” with Israel’s military operation, which began after 1,400 people, including babies and toddlers, were killed.

The United Nations human rights commissioner accused both Israel and Hamas of “war crimes.”

Also on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed as “false rumors” reports that a proposal to release 12 hostages in exchange for a three-day humanitarian pause in fighting is under discussion.

Israel said it had no other choice but to strike Gaza after experiencing the worst atrocity against Jews since the Holocaust, or Shoah in Hebrew.

Besides those killed, Hamas, which seeks the destruction of Israel and Jews, also took more than 200 people hostage, including babies and toddlers.

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