Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed calls to "allow" Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip as the military prepares a wider offensive in the territory, AFP reported.
Past calls to relocate Gazans out of the war-torn territory, including from US President Donald Trump, have been rejected by both the Palestinians and the international community.
Netanyahu defended his military policy in a rare interview with Israeli media, aired shortly after Egypt said Gaza mediators were leading a renewed push to secure a 60-day truce.
The prime minister told Israeli television i24NEWS that "we are not pushing them out, we are allowing them to leave".
"Give them the opportunity to leave, first of all, the combat zones and generally leave the territory if they want to," he said, referring to the influx of refugees during the wars in Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan.
In the Gaza Strip, Israel has for years tightly controlled its borders and barred many people from leaving.
24 countries have called on Israel to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached "unimaginable levels", Britain, Canada, Australia and several of their European allies said in a joint statement, urging Israel to allow unrestricted aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
"Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse the famine," the foreign ministers of 24 countries said in a joint statement.
"We call on the government of Israel to allow all aid shipments from international non-governmental organizations and to unblock the activities of key humanitarian organizations," the statement said.
The declaration was signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas and two other members of the European Commission also signed the declaration.
Some EU member states, including Germany and Hungary, did not sign it.