Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced "security zone" they intend to seize.

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter yesterday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced “security zone” they intend to seize.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said 140,000 people are impacted by the Israeli military's latest displacement orders, which indicate it could soon launch another major ground operation in Gaza's southernmost city.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s military is “switching gears” in Gaza, dividing and seizing more parts of the strip, a move experts say could mean Israel establishing deeper, more long-term control over the territory.

It is the biggest such order since Israel resumed its offensive in the Palestinian territory earlier this month.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is establishing a new security corridor across Gaza. In a statement issued Wednesday, he described it as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis,