Is this ethnic cleansing? Israel is preparing to attack Hamas in the Gaza Strip "from the air, sea and land". Aid groups fear thousands of Palestinians will be caught in the crossfire.
Gaza ‘evacuation’ revives grim memory of 1948
Ready to go: Over the past week, Israeli tanks have been moving next to the Gaza border. Glossary
Palestinians - People from Palestine, an area located in the Southern Levant region of Western Asia.
Hamas - A militant Palestinian organisation, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. It is listed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.
Gaza - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt.
Gaza strip - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, surrounded by Israel and Egypt.
Nakba - Meaning "catastrophe" in Arabic, used to refer to the displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
United Nations - An international organisation focused on keeping peace. Its refugee agency, the UNHCR, aims to assist refugees around the world.
Human rights - The basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life. Some have called for animals and even natural phenomena like rivers to have some form of human rights.
Ethnic cleansing - The systematic forced removal from one area or killing of an ethnic group, with the aim of creating a region that is ethnically homogeneous.
Allegations - Claims of wrongdoing.
Reliable - Trustworthy or good in quality or performance.