Gaza, Jul 12 (IANS): The Palestinians ordered by the Israeli military to leave Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip are lacking essential services and experiencing hostilities, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

Over the last week, the communities in northern Gaza have endured increased fighting, the ICRC said on Thursday in a statement, adding that the evacuation orders affected thousands of families, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Israeli orders were often unclear, leading to confusion and fear among the residents, the statement noted.

"The grim reality in Gaza today is that nowhere is safe. The struggle to simply survive is robbing people of their dignity," it added.

Israel's military said on Wednesday that it dropped thousands of leaflets on Gaza City, urging all residents to leave immediately amid an intensified Israeli military offensive on the city.

Earlier this week, the Israeli army required tens of thousands of Palestinians living in 19 blocs in Gaza City to immediately evacuate, according to a report published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

UN statistics estimated in early July that the number of people displaced within the Gaza Strip had risen to 1.9 million, or about nine out of 10 people in the enclave.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 others were taken hostage.

The Gaza-based health authorities said on Thursday that the Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza has risen to 38,345.