More than one million people have been forced from their homes in the northern Gaza Strip since Israel began its bombardment against Hamas, the UN said on Sunday, warning of dire conditions on the ground.
Israel declared war on the Islamist group last Sunday, a day after waves of its fighters broke through the heavily fortified border and shot, stabbed and burned to death more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
"No one can guarantee the control of the situation and the non-expansion of the conflicts" if Israel sends its soldiers into Gaza, said Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. In Washington, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said they feared the prospect of Iran becoming"directly engaged", after it praised the Hamas attack but insisted it was not involved.
The army has told 1.1 million Palestinians in the north of the Gaza Strip -- nearly half of its 2.4-million population -- to head south to safety. Aid agencies, including the UN and ICRC, as well as foreign governments have repeatedly criticised Israel's request for Gazans to leave their homes. Palestinians carrying whatever belongings they can, in bags and suitcases, or packed onto three-wheeled motorbikes, battered cars, vans and even donkey carts have become a common sight in recent days.
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