“I was born here, and I will die here, leaving is a stigma.”

The 24-hour deadline was set to end around 5am Hong Kong time on Saturday.

The United Nations said evacuating everyone was impossible with power supplies cut and food and water in the Palestinian enclave running short after a week of retaliatory air strikes and a full Israeli blockade. The US called it a “tall order”.

The northern half of the Gaza Strip includes the enclave’s biggest settlement Gaza City. The UN said it had been told that Israel wanted the entire population to move across the wetlands that bisect the enclave.

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“Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the Israeli military said, accusing Hamas of hiding in and under civilian buildings.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority that is a rival of Hamas, told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan that the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza would constitute a repeat of 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from what is now Israel. Most Gazans are the descendants of such refugees.

Abbas called for aid to be allowed into Gaza immediately. Israel has said it will not lift its blockade until scores of hostages captured by Hamas are set free. The Red Cross has said hospitals could soon run out of emergency fuel.

International talks focused on providing aid and safe zones in Gaza amid fears the conflict could spread, with Iran warning of a response from its allies, which include Hamas and the powerful Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

Pro-Palestinian protests were held around the world and in some places, Jewish communities feared they could be targeted after Israel’s military response to the unprecedented weekend attacks that killed more than 1,300 people, mostly civilians.

Israel has already responded with the most intensive air strikes of its 75-year conflict with the Palestinians. Gaza authorities say 1,799 people have been killed, including 583 children.

The Israeli military pledged to operate “significantly” in coming days.

“We are fighting for our home. We are fighting for our future,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said. “The path will be long, but ultimately I promise you we will win.”

Israel says the horrific attack on its civilians means it must annihilate the militant group and others must get out of the way. Hamas tunnels, military compounds, senior operatives’ residences and weapons storage warehouses were among 750 military targets struck overnight, it said.

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The United Nations said Israel’s call for Gaza civilians to leave could not happen “without devastating humanitarian consequences”, prompting a rebuke from Israel which said it should condemn Hamas and support Israel’s right to self-defence.

A ground invasion of the narrow and densely populated Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, poses serious risk, with Hamas threatening to kill its hostages.

Hours after the Israeli evacuation call, there were no signs people were leaving Gaza City, where dozens gathered at the al-Shifa Hospital, vowing to stay put.

Palestinians in southern and central areas of the enclave, where people were expected to flee to, said air strikes had hit there overnight, with central parts also hit on Friday morning. “No place is safe in the entire Gaza Strip,” the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.

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The UN humanitarian office (OCHA) said more than 400,000 people had already been made homeless in Gaza and 23 aid workers had been killed. “Mass displacement continues,” it said.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said it had moved its central operations centre and international staff to Gaza’s south and urged Israel to spare its shelters.

Seeking to build support for its response, Israel’s government showed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Nato defence ministers graphic images of those killed.

“It’s simply depravity in the worst imaginable way,” Blinken said, joining others in urging Israel to show restraint while also reiterating America’s support, saying: “We will always be there by your side.”

On Friday he met Jordan’s King Abdullah as well as Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007. Blinken is also set to visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates – some with influence on Hamas, which is backed by Iran.

Iran’s foreign minister met the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nassrallah, in Lebanon, where there have been cross-border clashes with Israel since the weekend, Lebanese media outlets reported.

“The continuation of war crimes against Palestine and Gaza will receive a response from the rest of the axis,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.

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The foreign minister of Turkey, which has offered mediation, talked with his counterpart from the UAE, a Turkish foreign ministry source said, and will visit Egypt on Friday.

The US military is placing no conditions on its security assistance to Israel, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said, adding Washington expected it to “do the right things”. Austin was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Friday.

China said it was deeply worried about the potential escalation of the conflict, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday.

“China opposes any act that harms civilians and violates international law,” Wang said, adding that China “supports the important role played by the United Nations in avoiding further escalation and upholding international humanitarian law”.

“We call on the international community to work together to prevent further expansion of the conflict and to avoid a serious humanitarian disaster. China will continue its utmost effort for it.”

Earlier, Israel’s foreign ministry said it expressed “deep disappointment” in a call with the Chinese envoy to the Middle East, over China’s lack of condemnation of Hamas’ weekend attack.

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The was “no clear and unequivocal condemnation of the terrible massacre committed by the terrorist organisation Hamas against innocent civilians and the abduction of dozens of them to Gaza”.

The United States and Japan were among countries offering charter flights for their citizens wanting to leave Israel while police in Paris used tear gas and water cannon to break up a banned rally in support of the Palestinians.

Some Jewish schools in Amsterdam and London were set to close temporarily due to safety concerns and police in New York and Los Angeles stepped up their presence around synagogues and Jewish community centres.

Abbas and the Palestinian Authority say they oppose killing civilians but have stopped short of directly condemning the Hamas attacks, blaming the escalation on Israel having strengthened extremists by ignoring Palestinian grievances.

Gazans have suffered economic collapse and repeated Israeli bombardment under a blockade since Hamas seized power there 16 years ago.

Talks to create a Palestinian state collapsed a decade ago and Israel’s right-wing government has cracked down in the West Bank and talked of seizing more land. Israel says it has had no reliable partner for negotiations.

Additional reporting by Alyssa Chen