Afternoon Update: 1.1 million residents of Gaza told to relocate south; NSW police criticised over protest threat; and New Zealand election countdown

Fire and smoke rise above buildings in Gaza City. At least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s bombardment, Gaza’s health ministry says. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

Good afternoon. The United Nations says it has been told by the Israeli military that some 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza should relocate to the enclave’s south within the next 24 hours, in what Palestinians fear could be a precursor to a planned Israeli ground offensive.

The UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement: “The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.”