Deir al-Balah | The Israeli military said Wednesday it has ordered the evacuation of Gaza City, which was an early target of the war that is now seeing renewed fighting.

The military dropped leaflets on the city, calling on people to head south and saying “Gaza City will remain a dangerous combat zone.”

The evacuation order could signal that Israel is expanding an incursion into the city, where it has been operating in several outlying neighbourhoods in recent days.

It was the latest sign that Hamas is regrouping in areas that Israel previously said it had cleared of militants.