Thousands flee north Gaza after Israel evacuation warning

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories – Thousands of Palestinians fled to southern Gaza in search of refuge on Saturday after Israel warned them to evacuate before an expected ground offensive against Hamas in retaliation for the deadliest attack in Israel's history.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that nearly a week of fierce bombardment was "just the beginning" as Israel seeks to retaliate against Hamas after their fighters killed more than 1,300 nearly a week ago.

Israeli ground forces made "localized" raids into Gaza in the last 24 hours "to cleanse the area of terrorists and weaponry" and try to find "missing persons", the army said.

Most of those killed when militant fighters burst through the heavily militarized border into Israel last Saturday were civilians, in an attack compared to 9/11 in the United States.

At least 1,900 Gazans — most of them civilians and including more than 600 children — have been killed in waves of missile strikes on the densely populated enclave, the health ministry said.

Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, took about 150 Israeli, foreign and dual national hostages back to Gaza in the initial attack, Israel has said.

The militant group said Friday that 13 of them had been killed in Israeli air strikes. It has previously said four hostages died in bombardments.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, visiting Israel on Friday, said Hamas was using residents as a "shield" in Gaza, where Israel has cut off water, fuel and food supplies.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation as having reached "a dangerous new low".

"We need immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza," he added. 

US President Joe Biden said addressing the humanitarian crisis was a "priority".

Tensions rose across the Middle East and beyond, with angry protests in support of the Palestinians, while Israel faced the threat of a separate confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

A Reuters video journalist was killed in south Lebanon, the international news agency said. Two other Reuters reporters were injured, as were two from AFP and two from Al Jazeera. 

Israeli forces had said