Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to "demolish Hamas" as his military prepared ground operations in Gaza to root out the militant group, whose deadly rampage through Israeli border towns stunned the nation.

Israel has urged Gazans to evacuate south, which hundreds of thousands have already done in their Hamas-controlled enclave that is home to 2.2 million people, about half in Gaza City.

Inside besieged Gaza, where conditions are deteriorating and deaths from Israeli air strikes rising, civilians said they had nowhere to flee and were not safe anywhere.

As Israel intensified air strikes on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and told residents to move south towards the border with Egypt, some like father of six Fadi Daloul thought that would be a safe option and gathered up his belongings.

Palestinians are desperate to find a safe hiding place as the Israeli military prepares for what is expected to be a ground offensive in Gaza accompanied by relentless air strikes.

Hamas has asked them to stay put.

With fears of the conflict spilling over, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued his rapid tour of Middle East states, seeking to prevent escalation and secure the release of 126 hostages Israel says were taken by Hamas back into Gaza.