Hundreds of Palestinians flee to south Gaza after Israel’s evacuation deadline

Palestinians were fleeing northern Gaza on Friday after Israel’s military urged civilians to move south — an order that the United Nations (UN) said affects 1.1 million people.

Hundreds of people were moving south on foot and in cars after the Israeli forces dropped leaflets urging residents in Northern Gaza to leave.

Gaza resident Abu Abdallah said he was leaving in a safe area but was ordered to leave anyway.

"My area is safe. They said, whether it's safe or not, get out of the area. They drove us out of the area, that is it," he said.

The UN warned that so many people fleeing en masse — with just a 24-hour deadline — would be calamitous. Hamas, which staged a shocking and brutal attack on Israel nearly a week ago and has fired thousands of rockets since dismissed it as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes.

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The evacuation order, which includes Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, sparked widespread panic among civilians and aid workers already running from Israeli airstrikes and contending with a total siege and a territory-wide blackout.