The Israeli army has dropped leaflets into the Gaza Strip telling Palestinians to leave their homes or risk being killed as Israel continues to rain down missiles on the Hamas-controlled territory.

Pictures of the leaflets, which residents told foreign news outlets had been dropped in the northern city of Beit Lahia, have circulated online.

Translated from Arabic, one read: ‘For your safety, you must leave your homes immediately and go to shelters. 

‘The IDF is not interested in harming you or your family members. Anyone who is near Hamas terrorists or terrorist targets will put their lives in danger.’

The IDF said it has bombarded the Gaza Strip with approximately 6,000 bombs containing a total of 4,000 tonnes of explosives since Saturday.

The IDF today dropped leaflets over Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip calling on people to leave their homes and go to shelters

A fireball erupts from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. Hundreds of people have been killed by bombs since Saturday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday vowed to ‘crush and destroy’ Hamas, warning that every member of the terrorist organsisation is a ‘dead man’. 

A constant barrage of bombs has hit the Gaza Strip since the terrorists crossed the border into Israel on Saturday, which the IDF says is aimed at Hamas targets. 

Officials have reported 1,354 people have been killed in Gaza since Saturday, where buildings have been entirely levelled by Israeli bombs.

Beit Lahia is home to roughly 62,000 Palestinians, according to population the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. 

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Residents hoping to flee for safety have very few options as airstrikes continue to pound the Gaza Strip, with borders to and from the territory closed.

Almost half of those killed in the relentless bombing are women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

At least 447 children and 248 women were among the estimated 1,417 people who have lost their lives so far, according to the ministry.

It added on Thursday that more than 6,000 have been injured since the regional tensions erupted into all-out war over the weekend.

Hamas claimed that 18 Palestinians died in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in the heart of Gaza.

Palestinian search the rubble of destroyed buildings following an Israeli airstrike 

The 25-mile long enclave is home to 2.3 million people, and is among the most densely populated places on Earth, with more than 65 per cent of its population estimated to live below the poverty line.

It has been the subject of a blockade by Israel since 2007, with electricity and water supplies cut off since Hamas’ attack on Saturday worsening the horrific situation.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned that crucial supplies were running perilously low after Israel imposed the total blockade.

‘It’s a dire situation in the Gaza Strip that we’re seeing evolve with food and water being in limited supply and quickly running out,’ said Brian Lander, the deputy head of emergencies at WFP. 

Around 340,000 Palestinians have fled their homes seeking refuge in schools, the UN said yesterday.