Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will maintain control of the Gaza Strip after its conflict with Hamas ends.

Netanyahu told reporters on Saturday that the Palestinian Islamic group has lost control of northern Gaza.

He said the Israeli military will keep control over the enclave from a security standpoint to prevent terror attacks from happening again.

The prime minister warned the Lebanon-based Shia militant group Hezbollah, which is carrying out attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon.

He said the group should not make the wrong decision to enter the conflict, which would be a "fatal" mistake and determine the "fate" of Lebanon.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address on Saturday that the only way to stop resistance movements in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen is to stop the fighting in Gaza.

Israeli forces are closing in on al-Shifa Hospital, the region's largest, in Gaza City. They say a key Hamas stronghold is located under the facility.

The Israeli military has issued evacuation warnings to medical staff, patients and others at al-Shifa and two other hospitals in the central city. A large number of residents are said to be taking shelter in those facilities.

A doctor from the international NGO, Doctors Without Borders, who remains at al-Shifa Hospital, made a plea for the safe evacuation of patients on social media.

In an audio message posted on Saturday, the doctor said the hospital has premature babies, patients in the intensive care unit and inpatients who have undergone surgery.