The United Nations and humanitarian groups are urging Israel to rescind a demand that Gaza civilians move to the south of the strip to avoid getting caught up in its offensive against Hamas militants.
The U.N. said such an evacuation would have devastating consequences for roughly 1.1 million people in northern Gaza.
A U.N. spokesman in New York urged Israel to rescind its announcement to avoid "a calamitous situation," The Wall Street Journal reported.
Israel's military early Friday said it had sent a map and a message saying civilians in Gaza City should move south ahead of a ground invasion in the densely populated area.
"You must evacuate your homes immediately and go to the south of Wadi Gaza," said the message, referring to a location roughly 8 miles southeast of the city center, the Journal said.
The U.N. reported that Israeli officers said the relocation should happen within 24 hours.
The head of the World Health Organization warned that such an evacuation would deepen the humanitarian crisis already unfolding in Gaza.
"I know firsthand that a mass evacuation to the enclave's south would be disastrous — for patients, health workers and other civilians left behind or caught in a dangerous and maybe a deadly mass movement," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on social media platform X. "We appeal for the reversal of the decision."
Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas after the terrorist group attacked over the weekend, killing 1,300 Israelis.
The Israeli Air Force said it had dropped roughly 6,000 bombs targeting Gaza since the war began. About 1,500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,600 wounded.