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 correspondent alaa ragaie has been following the situation at the rafah crossing, and sent this update from cairo. until this moment, we've been hearing that nobody managed to cross to the egyptian side according to palestinian sources. we have seen the list that used to be issued in the past three days by the authorities of crossings in gaza with around 700 names, including german, british and egyptians for the first time. all of these people, hundreds of them, headed to the border but the gate didn't open. according to sources we talk to from the crossings authorities in the palestinian side, there is some kind of condition. they are making it clear that they will not allow the foreigners or dual nationals to cross to the egyptian side until there is some kind of coordination or agreement about the safety of transferring those injured, severely injured palestinians, to the egyptian side. this, of course, came after a day when the palestinian side or palestinian authorities accused the israeli forces of targeting a convoy of ambulances in front of al shifa hospital, which killed around 15 in this convoy. so far, nobody crossed but we are still watching if there will be some kind of updates there. we don't know about the criteria or the number, the first day on wednesday we heard that 81 will be allowed to cross to egypt or to be transferred to egyptian hospitals. according to egyptian official numbers, only around 45 were allowed to cross or to be transferred to egyptian hospitals. we know that their identities are checked and verified by the security, israeli security or egyptian security to verify that they are not involved in the fighting. they are civilians. but we don't know about the criteria, why those. but most of them are severely injured. some of them were children. that is the situation at the rafah crossing. that is the situation at the rafah crossing. the united nations palestinian refugee agency says a school it runs that was housing displaced people in gaza has been hit. a spokeswoman, juliette touma, told the bbc that thousands of people were sheltering at the al fakhoura school injabalia in the battle—hit north of the territory. the hamas—run health ministry blamed israel, and said at least fifteen people were killed. a spokesman for the israeli military, said it was investigating the strike. meanwhile the diplomatic efforts to relieve the humanitarian crisis in gaza are stepping up again. the us secretary of state antony blinken is in amman meeting leaders from lebanon, qatarand 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 less and less it can do to protect people. the hamas—run gaza health ministry says 9,488 people have now been killed, including about 3,900 children. about 1,400 israelis were killed in the hamas attacks. the health ministry also says at least 12 people sheltering in a separate school to the one mentioned a short time ago were killed in an explosion there on friday night. hamas says the school was bombed by israel. there has been no comment yet from israel. the un secretary—general and the world health organization have condemned israel's attack on an ambulance in gaza. on friday, the israel defense forces admitted striking the ambulance but said the vehicle was being used by hamas to transport fighters. and the united states says it believes the war between israel and hamas is being contained, and any broader regional conflict has been deterred. these comments from the pentagon follow the first public remarks from the leader of the iranian—backed and lebanese—based hezbollah group, who didn't commit his thousands of fighters to enter the conflict. 0ur correspondent mark lowen reports. four weeks on, it's unrelenting. explosion. israel has continued its pounding of gaza from the ground...and from the air. 0vernight, its army says it killed what it called terror cells exiting some of the many hamas tunnels. the target, israel says, is terrorists, but civilians are paying an ever—more disastrous price. a school in a refugee camp hit this morning in what palestinians say was an israeli strike that killed at least 15. israel hasn't commented. most of these pictures are too graphic to show. childhood innocence has been destroyed, too, this boy says he witnessed three bombings here, carrying bodies with his own hands. hospitals and schools, places of refuge no more, israel maintaining they are hamas hideouts, using civilians as human shields. the roads are not safe, the unwra schools which were used for any attack in the past also as shelters are not safe. the south doesn't seem safe, either, and the passage to the south wouldn't seem safe, either. as the war grinds on, the american secretary of state arrived injordan, telling regional leaders the us is pushing for increased aid, despite israel's prime minister rejecting his call for a humanitarian pause. as gaza smoulders, so does arab anger. diplomacy has failed to stop the bloodshed. 0n the ground, more foreign passport holders have been leaving from gaza, like 11—year—old fala, her american passport a way out, but her father, left behind. my dad told me to be safe and he hugged me and he kissed my forehead because he is very worried about me. and this is the devastation they leave, gaza and its lives, ripped apart. israel hopes it will be hamas itself that will be flattened here. but what then? for the latest from gaza, here's our correspondent there, rushdi abualouf. today, israel asked about half a million people who still live in gaza city and the north to leave south here to khan younis. the city is already overwhelmed by about a million people who were displaced from their houses. the reason — the fighting was intensified around the gaza city and it seems that the israeli operation is expanding and pushing the people who are still in gaza to leave. they want the area to be evacuated, especially around the tel al—hawa area where al-quds hospital is. this morning there was an air strike right in the front of the hospital and they destroyed a building, causing big damage and big panic to about 111,000 people who are taking the hospital as shelter. israel insisted they should leave. the director of the hospital say we can't leave because most of the roads around the hospital were destroyed and about 100 patients are being treated inside. eight of them were connected to the life—saving machine. the biggest israeli incursion so far is in the north west of gaza, and they are pushing hard towards gaza city. it seems that the israelis want to tighten the siege around gaza city itself, and they are pushing hard for the residents who still remain there to leave their homes here to khan younis. that was our correspondence with the latest in gaza. as mentioned, us secretary of state antony blinken is facing demands for an immediate ceasefire in gaza as he meets regional leaders. he spoke shortly before his meeting with the un relief and works he spoke shortly before his meeting with the un relief and works agency, unrwa. it's both a pleasure and important to be here at unwra, which is doing extraordinary work every single day as a lifeline to palestinians in gaza and at great cost. more than 70 members of unwra have lost their lives. thousands are putting their lives on the line every single day to show up at work to help people. i have extraordinary admiration for the courage that they're showing. and we're here to hear about the efforts, the ongoing efforts, to be able to talk to people in the field and to express our own ongoing support for unrwa's work, including through the assistance that the united states has dedicated to unwra over the last three years. so let me just say again, our condolences to those who've lost their lives in trying to help others, and our admiration for those who continue this vital work. antony blinken speaking earlier. 0ur diplomatic correpondent paul adams is with me now. antony blinken started his visit here in israel yesterday. what was here in israel yesterday. what was he trying to achieve in this visit? 0ne he trying to achieve in this visit? one of the phrases that has been used a lot is this humanitarian pauses. he was talking about it when he was here yesterday. basically small breaks in the fighting to enable the humanitarian aid situation in the south to improve. forget the north, there is no humanitarian aid in the north. the un is not operating in the north. the americans have effectively washed their hands of the north because we know they make they know thatis because we know they make they know that is where the israelis are focusing military activity. it is about increasing aid trucks going into the rafah crossing, about 100 a day they say, but they want that to rise to 300 or 400 and day. and to make sure the aid gets to where it is needed within the southern gaza strip, which is where this idea of pauses might be necessary. 0bviously pauses might be necessary. obviously there are israeli military operations, air strikes, still continuing in the south. today american officials talking in a man seem to say that they don't have to be pauses, theyjust have to be arrangements. i think they recognise that the israelis don't like any talk of a pause in the fighting. the israeli approach is maximum pressure all the time, do not give hamas any opportunity to regroup, particularly when it comes to the issue of hostages. the israelis believe that just keeping up relentless pressure is the best way to secure the release of hostages. that is not a universally held belief, but we are seeing the americans slightly struggling to find terminology that israel will accept in an effort, essentially, to alleviate the humanitarian situation in the south, while the israelis get on with whatever they are getting on with the north. ., , whatever they are getting on with the north. ., �* ~ , the north. today blinken will be caettin at the north. today blinken will be getting at a _ the north. today blinken will be getting at a different _ the north. today blinken will be getting at a different set - the north. today blinken will be getting at a different set of - getting at a different set of messages from leaders in the arab world. he has a lot of talks. we hear that _ world. he has a lot of talks. we hear that the _ world. he has a lot of talks. - hear that the hotel where these meetings are taking place in a man is absolutely full of diplomats from across the region, a huge press presents from the arab world, all wanting to know what antony blinken is up to. he is going to have a press conference and are coming hour with the jordanian press conference and are coming hour with thejordanian and i think egyptian foreign ministers. a huge amount of interest in how he is marshaling regional players in this effort, and of course it is notjust about what is going on in gaza, it is also this constant preoccupation with making sure this conflict does not escalate. yesterday, after the hezbollah leader gave a speech in which he didn't appear to be making any fresh threats, there was a sigh of relief, but everyone recognises this still has the potential to become a much bigger regional conflict. that is a key part of those conversations with all the regional players. those conversations with all the regional maven-— those conversations with all the regional players. paul, thank you. as paulwas— regional players. paul, thank you. as paul was saying, _ regional players. paul, thank you. as paul was saying, antony - regional players. paul, thank you. | as paul was saying, antony blinken is expected to make that press conference. when it happens you will hear exactly what he has to say that life here on bbc news. joining me now is gina abercrombie—winstanley, president of the middle east policy council. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. as we were reflecting there, a huge amount of discussion going on today injordan with various senior figures. what will the us consider to be a successful day today, as a result of all of those talks? israel has got to fight on, perhaps not additional members, who are part of the abraham accord, changing their diplomatic relations. the focus now really, is on trying to get aid into civilians, and that part of the discussion is very much what the... the situation not getting worse as far as expanding the border, is probably the most that we can hope for. certainly the discussion is that the secretary is carrying out now make very clear that, as this goes on in multilateral effort, trying to ameliorate and improve the situation is what is going to have to take place, particularly after this phase is done. what comes next? it is going to take regional partners, working with the united states, israel, the palestinian authorities, to move beyond.— to move beyond. there is quite a difficult balancing _ to move beyond. there is quite a difficult balancing act _ to move beyond. there is quite a difficult balancing act going - to move beyond. there is quite a difficult balancing act going on i difficult balancing act going on just now, isn't there, with the us asking israel for humanitarian pause, and israel clearly saying that won't happen. how do you think we progress from that point? it is auoin to we progress from that point? it is going to be _ we progress from that point? it is going to be very _ we progress from that point? it 3 going to be very difficult, because clearly, the facts of how this works are not uppermost in the calculations from the government of israel. from that i mean we, the united states, speakfrom experience, with counterinsurgency, activities, whether in iraq or afghanistan. many of us, who have been following the events in gaza, know that, when you kill people, you bring additional terrorists, their family, theirfriends, and when you are having such a large number of civilian deaths, you radicalise others. so there is increasing questioning about whether the final aims of the government of israel is trying to achieve, are indeed achievable? the questions have been asks and they will continue to be asked. what is that they have to look like? when this is done, what do we have in front of us, and how do we have in front of us, and how do we have in front of us, and how do we move forward? since history shows that you cannot stamp out ideas, the question has to be, what indeed is going to be achieved at the end of so many civilian casualties?— the end of so many civilian casualties? �* ., ., casualties? and we heard from the penta . on casualties? and we heard from the pentagon last _ casualties? and we heard from the pentagon last night, _ casualties? and we heard from the pentagon last night, after - casualties? and we heard from the pentagon last night, after those i pentagon last night, after those remarks by the leader of hezbollah, that the us felt that a broader regional conflict would be avoided. do you think that is a holding position for now, or is the situation likely to stay that way? i think that is a safe statement for the moment to make. the speech was very long but very clear in that statement, that he is not calling for his fighters to join immediately. the reality is that that could change at a moment, depending on what is happening in gaza, what the rest of the world is able to see. tensions run high, they will run high. there is a low—grade conflict going on. it can be a miscalculation by a commander, by individuals, the aim of the rockets, do they continue to hit primarily military targets, does one go astray and hit a civilian target? there are many ways that this can go or rye, and therefore the attention to the rest of the front, whether it is lebanon, syria, iraq, the west bank, we cannot ignore the conflict that is but on going in the west bank as well. there are many ways this can go wrong. any statement by any of our government officials have to be caveat it with, we have to keep a close eye on this, the diplomatic efforts to keep everyone along side and not expanding this war is going to be very important.— and not expanding this war is going to be very important. thank you very much forjoining _ to be very important. thank you very much forjoining us _ to be very important. thank you very much forjoining us here _ to be very important. thank you very much forjoining us here on - to be very important. thank you very much forjoining us here on bbc - to be very important. thank you veryl much forjoining us here on bbc news as we continue to watch and wait for the secretary of state, the us secretary of state, antony blinken, who is going to be making those comments injordan in the next hour or so, which we will bring you here on bbc news was up we have also got that life shot you can see, those live pictures towards gaza from southern israel. it is regularly a very misty skyline there. sometimes it is the weather and sometimes it is the result of those repeated air strikes and artillery strikes that we see continuing as part of that intensifying military operation that is going on. thousands of pro—palestinian protesters have been holding rallies as well. we'll keep you up—to—date with that story. we also have our live page on the bbc news website, where you can follow the story, all of the developments, all of the breaking news is there for you on the bbc news website. that is all for now from here in jerusalem. let's get the rest of the day's news in london. thousands of pro—palestinian protesters have held demonstrations in one of the uk's busiest shopping districts in london before marching on trafalgar square. crowds of tens of thousands gathered for the latest in a series of large—scale demonstrations to demand an end to the bombardment of gaza. the protest comes amid demands by senior ministers, including prime minister rishi sunak, for a crackdown on any support shown for hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation in the uk. let's get the latest on that protest and joining me now from central london is our correspondence. talk is through what people are saying to you. what is happening where you are? ., , ., are? thousands of people are here in trafaluar are? thousands of people are here in trafalgar square. _ are? thousands of people are here in trafalgar square. they _ are? thousands of people are here in trafalgar square. they are _ are? thousands of people are here in trafalgar square. they are asking, i trafalgar square. they are asking, it seems, for a ceasefire. i have talked to dozens of people this morning who have said to me that they are here peacefully. they want to protest peacefully. they say they want to