At least 70 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes while attempting to flee the northern Gaza Strip after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of more than a million residents, a demand that was deemed “impossible” by the UN, according to Hamas officials.

Qatar based media house Al Jazeera reports that the media wing of Hamas said 70 people, mostly women and children, were killed in the air raids on cars leaving Gaza City in three places.

The United Nations, Arab countries and others reacted with concern to the Israeli army evacuation order, as many Gazans said they have nowhere to go. Exits from the territory, to Egypt and Israel, are shut. Food, water, electricity and communications have largely gone, AFP reports.

Still, some vowed to stay among the rubble-strewn streets after bombing levelled entire blocks. More than 1,300 buildings containing 5,540 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed, the UN said on Saturday.