Fleeing Palestinians have crammed into cars and donkey carts in a desperate attempt to beat Israel's deadline to leave the north of the Gaza Strip.

The IDF had allowed 1.1million civilians just 24 hours to escape to the south of the territory, a deadline that ended at 3am BST. It then said today that Gazans could flee safely via two main roads between 10am and 4pm local time (8AM to 2pm BST).

Many Palestinians are struggling to escape from areas targeted by the Israeli military while grappling with a growing water crisis after Israel stopped the flow of resources to the region.

Palestinians and some Egyptian officials fear that Israel ultimately hopes to push Gaza's people out through the southern border with Egypt.

Hamas terrorists have urged civilians to ignore the evacuation order and some are refusing to leave, with Mahmoud Shalabi - director of Medical Aid for Palestinians - saying 'no place was safe in Gaza' and he hoped to 'die with dignity'. 

A convoy of vehicles was hit by an airstrike yesterday killing 70 people, according to the Palestine Health Authority. The BBC identified at least 12 bodies in the footage, mostly women and children - some of whom appear to be as young as two to five.

At least 2,215 people have been killed by airstrikes on Gaza so far, with another 8,714 wounded.