North Gaza residents told to evacuate in next 24 hours

Israel gave notice to 1 million residents of north Gaza Friday at midnight that they should evacuate to the south in the next 24 hours, signaling that it plans to attack the area in a major way after the evacuation time frame has passed.

“Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the military group said.

It has now been a week since Hamas fighters attacked Israel, killing over 1,300 Israelis so far. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war immediately on Hamas and has been pounding military targets in Gaza in the days since.

“In the following days, the IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians," also according to a statement issued early Friday.

The order extends to U.N. workers in the region, who have argued that it will be impossible to evacuate that quickly.

There are a total of 2.5 million residents in Gaza.