The spokesperson said that "grave touch-and-go military tensions are prevailing on the Korean Peninsula" because of the South Korean drone launches. In a separate statement later Sunday, the spokesperson said that the entire South Korean territory "might turn into piles of ashes" following the North's powerful attack.

North Korea said Sunday its front-line army units are ready to launch strikes on South Korea, ramping up pressure on its rival that it said flew drones and dropped leaflets over its capital Pyongyang.

By Hyunsu Yim and Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea is getting ready to blow up roads that cross the heavily militarised border with South Korea, Seoul said on Monday, amid an escalating war of words after the North accused its rival of sending drones over its capital Pyongyang.

At least 10 people were killed and 40 injured in northern Gaza on Monday after Israeli tank shells hit people queuing for food, Palestinian medics said, as fears mounted in the enclave that Israel plans to displace all residents from the north.

A displaced Palestinian boy sits on a cart as he and others make their way to flee areas in the northern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli evacuation order, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City October 12,

Palestinians in northern Gaza are describing heavy Israeli bombardment in the hours after airstrikes killed at least 22 people.