Israel asks civilians to flee, as blackout continues in Gaza

GAZA STRIP: On Saturday, Israel's military reissued a call for Palestinians to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip ahead of an impending Israeli operation.

- 

Israel, which says Hamas has placed its weapons and forces among civilians, has been telling Gaza's residents to move south for their own safety.

"This is an urgent military advisory," said spokesman Daniel Hagari on social media platform X. "For your immediate safety, we urge all residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to temporarily relocate south."

Israeli ground forces continued operating in the northern Gaza Strip Saturday, the army said, more than 24 hours after entering the Palestinian territory as the military expanded its war on Hamas.

"Since early Friday evening, combined combat forces of armour, combat engineers and infantry have been operating on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip," the army said in a statement.

After air strikes and artillery fire rained down for hours overnight, much of the Gaza Strip has become an indistinguishable wasteland of rubble, with residents likening the devastation to that of a natural disaster.

The intense bombardments "changed the landscape", Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the Gaza Civil Defence told AFP of the damage.