Thousands of Iraqi civilians continued to flee western Mosul amid a major military offensive to drive ISIL militants from the northern city.

Military officer Jabbar Hassan said more than 5,000 civilians have been evacuated from Mosul’s western side in the past 24 hours.

“Most of the evacuees were forced to leave their homes because of the food shortage,” he said.

The Iraqi officer said relief teams were unable to reach all army-captured areas in western Mosul due to the serious security situation there.

In mid-February, Iraqi forces -- backed by a U.S.-led air coalition -- began fresh operations aimed at purging ISIL terrorists from western Mosul.

The offensive came as part of a wider campaign launched last October to retake the entire city, which ISIL overran -- along with much of northern and western Iraq -- in mid-2014.

On Tuesday, Iraqi authorities said that more than 72,000 civilians have fled their homes in western Mosul since mid-February.

On Monday, the first aid convoy was allowed into western Mosul, two weeks after the start of the anti-ISIL operation.

The UN estimates that 250,000 civilians will be displaced from western Mosul following the anti-ISIL offensive.