STORY: Carrying belongings, Palestinians fled northern Gaza, heading to the south, amid Israel’s military operation.

People were moving in cars, trucks and carts loaded with belongings, while others walked along a coastal road in central Gaza.

Israeli tanks advanced along two gateways to the center of Gaza City on Thursday while internet and phone lines were cut off for several hours, signaling a potential escalation in ground operations in the Palestinian enclave.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Israel announced on August 10 it intended to take control, but a greater number are staying put, either in battered homes among the ruins or in makeshift tent encampments.

Israel says the offensive to take control of Gaza City is part of a plan to defeat Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The military has been dropping leaflets urging residents to flee towards a designated "humanitarian zone" in the south of the territory, but aid agencies say conditions there are dire, with insufficient food, medicine, shelter and basic hygiene.

The total Palestinian death toll from the two-year war surpassed 65,000 on Wednesday, according to the Gaza health authorities.

About 1,200 people were killed in the October 2023 Hamas attack and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

Carrying belongings, Palestinians flee northern Gaza to the south amid Israeli military operation

VIDEO SHOWS: PALESTINIANS FLEEING, VEHICLES MOVING IN CENTRAL GAZA/PEOPLE CARRYING BELONGINGS

RESENDING WITH FULL SCRIPT

SHOWS: CENTRAL GAZA, GAZA (SEPTEMBER 19, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all)

1. VARIOUS OF DISPLACED PALESTINIANS LEAVING AREA IN VEHICLES, WITH BELONGINGS / PEOPLE WALKING

2. VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN SITTING IN THE BACK OF VEHICLE/BELONGING ON TOP OF VEHICLE

3. VARIOUS OF PALESTINIANS SLEEPING ON SIDE OF THE ROAD

4. PALESTINIANS ON THE BEACH WITH THEIR BELONGINGS

5. CHILDREN SLEEPING ON THE GROUND

6. VARIOUS OF DISPLACED PALESTINIANS MOVING IN THEIR VEHICLES

7. PALESTINIANS WALKING WITH THEIR BELONGINGS

8. VARIOUS OF CHILD SLEEPING NEXT TO WOMEN

9. VARIOUS OF PEOPLE MOVING WITH THEIR BELONGINGS/VEHICLES ON THE ROAD