An Israeli government spokesman has said Israel is “doing everything” it can to get civilians out of harm’s way.
Eylon Levy told Sky News that Israel wants to see the end of suffering in Gaza, but added that Israel needs to achieve its objectives first.
“We want to see the fighting end, but it’s only going to end with the defeat of Hamas,” he said.
Mr Levy added that only 100,000 of the 1.1 million civilians are still in northern Gaza and highlighted that humanitarian corridors for them to flee via remain open.
He said that rather than criticising Israel, the focus should be on getting civilians to safety.
“Anyone in the international community genuinely concerned for civilians should be helping and encouraging the evacuation… instead of criticising Israel for doing everything it can [to keep civilians safe] – more than any army in the history of warfare.
“I’m not aware of any conflict in history that has seen no civilians being killed. Civilians get hurt in war, that is a tragic consequence.”