More than half of Gaza City's residents have evacuated the area as Israel Defense Forces continue their offensive in what they call a Hamas stronghold.

Palestinians flee south from Gaza City amid intensified Israeli shelling on Thursday. Photo by Hassan Al-Jadi/UPI. UPI

Sept. 20 (UPI) -- More than half of Gaza City's residents have evacuated as Israel Defense Forces continue their offensive in what they call a Hamas stronghold.

Gaza City has about 1 million residents, but IDF officials said more than half of them heeded their warning and began evacuating the city in late August, The Times of Israel reported on Saturday.

Israel has designated a humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip and ordered all Palestinians across Gaza City to immediately evacuate to the humanitarian zone before it launched its new offensive on Tuesday.

Among those traveling to the humanitarian zone are Ahmed Daif Allah, who reportedly lost his eyesight during an IDF airstrike, and his wife, Rafiq.

"The journey is incredibly tough, more than anyone could imagine," Rafiq told media, as reported by NBC News.

"There is no pity," she added. "There is no humanity."

The IDF is continuing its military operation against Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza City with "unprecedented force," IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said on Friday.

While hundreds of thousands have evacuated Gaza City, an estimated 84 Gazans were killed throughout the Gaza Strip on Saturday, including 69 in Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera.

The report did not cite a source or say how many of those reported killed are Hamas members or civilians.

Gaza City is located in the northern Gaza Strip, and the IDF warned its residents to evacuate ahead of its military offensive against Hamas in an effort to recover more of the about 50 remaining hostages held by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023.