One week has passed since the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a bloody assault in Israel. The Israeli military is urging residents of the Gaza Strip to evacuate, as it is preparing for a possible ground attack.

There is no end in sight for the fighting that has left more than 3,500 people dead. At least 1,300 individuals have died in Israel, and 2,200 people in Gaza have lost their lives.

The Israeli military announced on Friday that it conducted raids in northern Gaza. It said its aim was to eliminate threats posed by terrorists and their weapons, and to gather evidence indicating where hostages are being held.

The Israeli military dropped Arabic-language leaflets that urged the residents of northern Gaza to evacuate and head to the south. On Friday, Israel issued a 24-hour evacuation period for the residents of Gaza. But the move has drawn criticism from the international community.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "Moving more than one million people across a densely populated war zone to a place with no food, water, or accommodation, when the entire territory is under siege, is extremely dangerous -- and in some cases, simply not possible." He added, "Even wars have rules."

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, "They have to give more time in order to make it possible and not to create a dire humanitarian situation."

The Israeli military posted evacuation routes leading to southern Gaza on social media on Saturday. It said people would be able to use the routes, without being harmed, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time.

Countries around the world are taking steps to evacuate their citizens from Israel.

Japan has already chartered a flight out of Tel Aviv. The plane is scheduled to depart for Dubai on Saturday. Japan has also sent Self-Defense Force aircraft to Djibouti, in case they are needed to help evacuate Japanese citizens.

South Korea is also pushing ahead with efforts to evacuate its citizens. On Saturday, the country's foreign ministry said that a military aircraft had left Israel with 220 passengers, including 51 Japanese people and six Singaporeans.

The UN Security Council held an emergency session on Friday. Russia presented a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all the hostages.
The resolution condemns the violence against civilians and acts of terrorism, but does not mention Hamas.

Brazil, which chairs the council, presented a draft resolution after the session. In addition to what Russia's draft calls for, Brazil's text condemns the attacks and the taking of hostages by Hamas. The Security Council will hold a debate about the two draft documents.