GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Friday that 450,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Israel began its offensive to seize the territory’s largest urban center.

“The number of citizens displaced from Gaza to the south has reached 450,000 people since the start of the military operation on Gaza City in August,” said Mohamed Al-Mughayir, an official of the rescue force, which operates under Hamas authority

The Israeli military, which has called on residents to evacuate as it presses its ground assault, had told AFP that it estimated “approximately 480,000” people had fled the city.