As Israel's military warned Gaza City residents on Tuesday to evacuate ahead of its planned offensive there, some Palestinians packed up their belongings and left, while others lacked the money to get out and some simply refused to leave their homes again.

Hundreds of thousands of people remain struggling under conditions of famine in the city.

“I don't have the financial means to leave," Yousef Rajih told the Associated Press.

"We won't leave, we won't get out of here because we can't leave."

Abu Amjad, another Gaza City resident, was in a similar situation.

“I don't have a single shekel," he said, explaining that a driver would charge him around 2,000 shekels to get out, the equivalent of $600.

"He wants the cost of diesel. I don't have the money to leave," Amjad said.

"I will stay here. Either I live or I die. But I swear I won't leave."

Tuesday's warnings directed at Gaza City were the first calling for a full evacuation.

Until now, the military has only told specific sections of the northern city to evacuate ahead of operations or strikes.

Associated Press reporters saw lines of cars and trucks leaving, more than previous days passing from northern to southern Gaza on Tuesday.

Children and adults sat atop piles of blankets, pillows, chairs, and clothing stacked on trucks and wagons.