UN says displaced in Gaza tops 187,500 as territory is sealed off

Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Yassin Mosque destroyed after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on Monday (Adel Hana/AP)

More than 187,500 people have been displaced in Gaza since the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, according to the United Nations.

The report from the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) comes amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and the military wing of the militant Hamas group saying it will kill one Israeli civilian captive any time civilians are targeted in their homes in Gaza “without prior warning”.