hello, i m anna foster, this is bbc news life from jerusalem. live from jerusalem. the exit of foreign citizens from gaza has been stopped at least temporarily. no one has used the crossing so far today. we are hearing that border authorities will not permit foreign passport holders to cross into egypt until the injured people in gaza s hospitals are allowed to travel to rafah. hundreds of foreign citizens have escaped egypt through the crossing in the past few days. meanwhile, the diplomatic efforts to relieve the humanitarian crisis in gaza are stepping up again. the us secretary of state antony blinken is in amma meeting leaders from lebanon, qatar and jordan. mr blinken is pushing for pauses in the fighting in gaza. the regional leaders want an immediate ceasefire. but israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu insists there will be no temporary truce until all hostages are released. while in gaza, an official from the un agency for palestinian refugees warns there is
at least 157 people. houses are destroyed and people are digging through rubble to rescue others. and russell brand faces a fresh allegation of sexual assault. the claim is made in a civil lawsuit filed in new york and dates back to 2010. hello. i am anna foster, this is bbc news, live from jerusalem. israel s military has again urged civilians in gaza s north to leave the area. it reopened one of the strip s main highways. allowing people to drive south. strip s main highways. the road was scheduled to be open for three hours and that window was due to close just moments ago. the rafah crossing to egypt is also closed at least temporarily. no one has used the crossing so far today. we are hearing that gaza border authorities will not permit foreign passport holders to cross into egypt until the injured people in gaza s hospitals are allowed to travel to rafah. hundreds of foreign citizens have escaped gaza through the crossing in the past few days. our bbc arabic corresp
the united states top diplomat antony blinken that there must be an immediate ceasefire in gaza. thejordanian foreign minister ayman safadi said the killing of civilians by israel could not be justified by its claim of self defence. he said the entire region was sinking into a sea of hatred that could define generations to come. the egyptian foreign minister, sameh shoukry, said his country was exerting all its efforts to deliver aid and treat wounded gazans and joined the call for an immediate ceasefire. for his part, mr blinken reaffirmed us support for humanitarian pauses in fighting. but he rejected the call for an immediate ceasefire . 0ur correspondent anna foster followed that press conference and gave this analysis on the israeli stance. israel has been very clear, since those attacks on the 7th of october, that one of their key objectives, along with releasing those hostages, is to entirely eliminate hamas and its leadership and its infrastructure from inside the
justified by its claim of self defence. he said the entire region was sinking into a sea of hatred that could define generations to come. the egyptian foreign minister, sameh shoukry, said his country is making every effort to deliver aid and treat injured gazans and joined the call for an immediate ceasefire. the numbers of people who were killed from civilians in gaza over the last few weeks, including working in relief and journalists cannot be justified any way. and in this regard, we are still asking for an immediate ceasefire and that israel would stop hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid. and we also demand an international investigation for these violations of the international law in this war. and finally, what we are witnessing of an escalation and the human tragedy and suffering of civilians as a result of not addressing the deep root of the problem and to address the rights of the palestinian rights. i reject any attempts to liquidate the palestinian cause