Thousands of internally displaced Palestinians fled toward the southern Gaza Sunday as Israel's likely ground invasion of the blockaded strip looked more imminent.

Israeli forces were readying for the looming ground attack invasion aimed at Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which led a surprise incursion of Israeli territories surrounding Gaza on Oct. 7.

In the eight days since, Israel has responded with a devastating bombing campaign that has claimed over 2,300 lives in Gaza, compared to around 1,300 Israeli casualties.

Fear and chaos reigned in the 40-kilometre (25-mile) long strip that is one of the world's most densely populated areas, with no safe place for the large numbers of internally displaced Palestinians to flee to.

Entire Gaza city blocks lay in ruins and hospitals were overflowing with thousands of wounded in the besieged territory, but there were fears of worse to come.

Israel has massed forces outside the long-blockaded enclave of 2.4 million ahead of what the army has said will be a land, air and sea attack involving a "significant ground operation."

Israel has also stationed troops and tanks on its U.N.-patrolled northern border with Lebanon and closed a 4 kilometer (2.5 mile) wide zone there to civilians after repeated exchanges of cross-border fire with Hezbollah.

'More is coming'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited front line troops in the south near Gaza on Saturday, wearing a flak jacket. "Are you ready for what is coming?" he said. "More is coming."

Israel's military spokesmen have repeatedly said that the army is ready for a ground operation but awaiting a "political decision" on the timing.

Special forces have made forays into Gaza and recovered the bodies of some of the up to 150 hostages feared taken by Hamas. Israel has said it has identified more than 120 captives, while Hamas has claimed 22 have died in Israeli airstrikes.

A Gaza ground invasion threatens to bring the kind of grueling house-to-house fighting that devastated Iraq's Mosul and Fallujah in years past, further complicated for Israeli forces by Hamas' vast tunnel network.

Israel has warned 1.1 million Palestinians to leave northern Gaza and a steady stream of families in overloaded cars, trucks and donkey carts have since headed south.

'Catastrophic situation'

Alarm has grown about a wider humanitarian crisis in Gaza where Israel has cut off water, food and power, vowing to maintain the complete siege until all hostages are freed.

"The situation is catastrophic," said Jumaa Nasser, who traveled from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza with his wife, mother and seven children.

"We've had no food or sleep. We don't know what to do. I've given my fate up to God."

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi charged that Israel's actions have gone "beyond the scope of self-defense" and said it must "cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza."

Egypt to the south controls the only other crossing with Gaza but has so far refused to open it to help evacuate foreign citizens unless aid convoys are allowed to enter, according to unnamed intelligence sources cited in media reports.