Countries urged Israel to hold off on plans for an all-out assault on northern Gaza, where more than a million civilians largely defied its order to evacuate before it goes after Hamas fighters who attacked Israel a week ago.

However, according to the Israeli army, its ground forces carried out "localized raids" in Gaza.

"Over the past 24 hours, IDF (Israeli military) forces carried out localized raids inside the territory of the Gaza Strip to complete the effort to cleanse the area of terrorists and weaponry," an army statement said. "During these operations, there was also an effort to locate missing persons."

Israel had already responded with the most intensive air strikes of its 75-year conflict with the Palestinians, which according to Gaza authorities have killed 1,799.

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The Israeli military has not spelled out what sort of operation it is planning next but has pledged to operate "significantly" in coming days. 

A ground offensive in the narrow and densely populated Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, poses serious risk, with Hamas threatening to kill its hostages.

'We're fighting for our home'

"We are fighting for our home. We are fighting for our future," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said. "The path will be long, but ultimately I promise you we will win."

Israel says the horrific attack on its civilians means it must annihilate Hamas, and others must get out of the way. Hamas tunnels, military compounds, senior operatives' residences and weapons storage warehouses were among 750 military targets struck overnight, it said.

Israel's military had earlier called for all civilians of Gaza City, more than 1 million people, to relocate south within 24 hours.

The United Nations said it could not happen "without devastating humanitarian consequences," prompting a rebuke from Israel which said it should condemn Hamas and support Israel's right to self-defense.

The U.S. Secretary of State visited Jordan, to discuss the conflict, and later had a meeting with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

The Qatari leader said his country is seeking to open a humanitarian corridor so aid can reach Gaza Strip, in a joint press conference with Blinken.

The U.S. official, however, blamed Hamas for hampering efforts to get humanitarian aid into the enclave but asked Israel to take "every possible precaution" to avoid civilian deaths in Gaza.

Abdulrahman al-Thani also said it is early to judge progress on releasing hostages being held by Hamas, given the intensity of the ongoing hostilities.

The Israeli military says it has confirmed there are at least 120 captives in Gaza.

Time for resolve and not revenge

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said U.S. officials were working with Israel and Egypt, which also has a border with Gaza, on safe passage for civilians there.

"Obviously, we don't want to see any civilians hurt," he said on CNN. "These Palestinian people, they're victims, too. They didn't ask for this. They didn't invite Hamas in and say, you know, 'Go hit Israel.'"

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a trip to Tel Aviv that military aid was flowing into Israel but that this was the time for resolve and not revenge.

Egypt and Turkiye warned against the Israeli call for Gaza residents to move south.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that humanitarian organizations would not be able to assist more than a million people in Gaza who Israel has given 24 hours to evacuate to the south of the enclave.

ICRC said Israel's call for the population to relocate south in 24 hours – coupled with a blockade that denies them access to food, water, and electricity – was "not compatible with international humanitarian law."

The Palestinian United Nations envoy Riyad Mansou appealed to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to do more to stop a "crime against humanity" by Israel.

The United Nations issued an emergency appeal for $294 million to address "the most urgent needs" in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where more than 400,000 Palestinians have fled their homes in recent days.

'Death is better than leaving'

Hamas, which controls the densely populated Palestinian territory, vowed to fight until the last drop of blood and told residents to stay put after Israel's mass evacuation order.

While some heeded the call to leave, by Friday afternoon there was little sign of a mass exodus.

"Death is better than leaving," said Mohammad, 20, standing in the street outside a building reduced to rubble in an Israeli air strike two days ago near the center of Gaza. "I was born here, and I will die here, leaving is a stigma."

With power supplies cut and food and water in the Palestinian enclave running short after a week of retaliatory air strikes and a full Israeli blockade, the UN said Gaza's civilians were in an impossible situation.

"The noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening. How are 1.1 million people supposed to move across a densely populated warzone in less than 24 hours?" UN Aid Chief Martin Griffiths wrote on social media.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said such a huge evacuation was a "tall order", but that Washington would not second guess its ally's decision to tell civilians to get out of the way.

"We understand what they're trying to do and why they're trying to do this – to try to isolate the civilian population from Hamas, which is their real target," he said on MSNBC.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, a rival of Hamas, told the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan that the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza would constitute a repeat of 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from what is now Israel. Most Gazans are the descendants of those refugees.

Abbas called for aid to be allowed into Gaza immediately. Israel has said it will not lift its blockade until scores of hostages captured by Hamas are set free.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Israel risked waging an "unacceptable" siege in Gaza comparable to the Nazi blockade of Leningrad during World War II, and called for mediation.

"In my view it is unacceptable," Putin said. "More than two million people live there. Far from all of them support Hamas by the way, far from all. But all of them have to suffer, including women and children. Of course it's hard for anyone to agree with this."

Putin reiterated his call for the crisis to be resolved by negotiation, saying Russia could help because it has relations with both sides.

'War crimes will receive a response'

Iran also warned of a response from its allies, which include Hamas and the powerful Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. The Israeli military said gunmen were infiltrating across the Lebanese border.

Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nassrallah, in Lebanon. "The continuation of war crimes against Palestine and Gaza will receive a response from the rest of the axis," Amirabdollahian said.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, saying the use of such weapons puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injury.

In an apparent rebuttal, the Israeli military said in a statement: "The current accusation made against the IDF (Israel Defence Force) regarding the use of white phosphorus in Gaza is unequivocally false."

Tens of thousands of protesters rallied across the Middle East and beyond in support of Palestinians and condemnation of Israel as it intensified its strikes on Gaza.

Jewish communities in France and elsewhere were also holding rallies in solidarity with Israel.

France and Germany banned pro-Palestinian demonstrations and several Western countries said they had stepped up security at synagogues and Jewish schools fearing that protests could lead to acts of violence.

In Portugal, security agencies said they were reinforcing protection around Jewish sites after the fence of the synagogue in Porto was vandalized with graffiti saying "Free Palestine" and "End Israel Apartheid."

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