Israel says to evacuate residents near Gaza within 24 hours

Israel's army said Sunday it aims to evacuate all Israelis living close to the Gaza Strip within 24 hours as it deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to fight Palestinian militants who had infiltrated into Israel.

"Our mission for the upcoming 24 hours is to evacuate all residents living around Gaza," military spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters, adding that fighting was still on to "rescue hostages" held by militants in Israel.

He said the evacuation had to be done after a proper "scan of the territory" to ensure that no militants were present.

"There are tens of thousands of combat soldiers in the area. We'll reach each and every community till we kill every terrorist in Israel," Hagari said.

Troops also battled militants through the night in Kfar Aza, two kilometres (1.2 miles) east of the border with Gaza Strip, he said.

On Saturday the army said there were two locations within a radius of 20 kilometres from the Gaza border where hostages were held.

Israeli media reported that hostages were released in Beeri and Ofakim, but when asked by AFP the army refused to offer details.

The army had so far hit 500 Hamas targets, including the group's "military infrastructure, homes of commanders and symbols of the Hamas regime", Hagari said.

He said Israeli forces had taken control of points from where militants had breached into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

"The forces have killed hundreds of terrorists on the ground," he said, adding that dozens had been taken as prisoners.

Hamas had committed a "despicable war crime", Hagari said.