The Israeli military has said that around 480,000 Palestinians have fled southwards from Gaza City since late August, as it presses its ground offensive in a bid to seize the territory’s largest urban centre, AFP reports.

When asked by AFP for a figure since the end of August, the military said: “The estimate is approximately 480,000.”

The United Nations estimated at the end of August that about one million people were living in Gaza City and its surroundings.