ISRAEL: GET OUT NOW

Palestinians warned to flee. Gaza 'facing a catastrophe'

- ISOBEL DICKINSON

CIVILIANS were urged to take a last chance to flee northern Gaza last night as Israel warned the war had entered a "new phase".

Palestinians still living there were told: "Your window to act is closing, move south for your own safety. This is not a precaution, this is an urgent plea."

It came as Israel pummelled Gaza with airstrikes on a scale "never seen before", amid scenes of "total chaos" Israel said its "best soldiers" were now on the ground in Gaza and had been "acting with great force".

Israel Defence Forces' Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari pledged they would "neutralise the threat of Hamas with precision and intensity". The IDF said 150 "underground targets" were hit in strikes on the territory.