JERUSALEM:

The Israeli military said on Saturday that more than 250,000 people had fled Gaza City since it began intensifying operations there, as Palestinian officials reported many had been unable to evacuate south due to overcrowding.

The United Nations estimated in late August that about one million Palestinians lived in and around Gaza's largest urban centre, where it said a famine was unfolding after months of worsening conditions.

The world body and members of the international community have urged the military to abandon its plans to capture the city, warning the assault and ensuing displacement could worsen the already dire humanitarian situation.

On Saturday, Arabic-language army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X that "more than a quarter of a million residents of Gaza City

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