Gunbattles near major Gaza hospital while thousands flee south

BBC updates:

FIGHTING between Israel and Hamas is close to the Al Quds hospital in Gaza City.
Our correspondent in the Gaza Strip reports "a real gun battle" in the area.

Thousands of people have been sheltering in the hospital grounds - and there are still 100 patients in the hospital itself.

An evacuation route, allowing people to leave northern Gaza for the south, is open for the fifth day.

But the Rafah crossing into Egypt is closed, as Hamas wants more injured Palestinians to be let out alongside foreign passport holders.

Hamas-run authorities say Israeli air strikes continue, including in Khan Younis in the south, where six people were reportedly killed.

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 10,800 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, including more than 4,400 children.