DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli ground troops for the first time Monday pushed into areas of a central Gaza city where several aid groups are based, in what appeared to be the latest effort to carve up the Palestinian territory with military corridors.
Deir al-Balah is the only Gaza city that has not seen major ground operations or suffered widespread devastation in 21 months of war, leading to speculation that the Hamas militant group holds large numbers of hostages there. The main group representing hostages’ families said it was “shocked and alarmed” by the incursion, which was confirmed by an Israeli military official, and demanded answers from Israeli leaders.
Israel says the seizure of territory in Gaza is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages, but it is a major point of contention in ongoing ceasefire talks.
The U.N. food agency, meanwhile, accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend. Gaza’s Health Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war that has driven the territory to the brink of famine.
In the latest sign of international frustration, the United Kingdom, France and 23 other Western-aligned countries issued a statement saying “the war in Gaza must end now.” They harshly criticized Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid and called for the release of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza.
Evacuation orders dropped at dawn
Associated Press reporters heard explosions and saw smoke rising from parts of the city that were ordered evacuated on Sunday. The Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said it was the first time ground troops had operated in the area.
A man living in the evacuation zone, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said Israel dropped pamphlets at dawn ordering people to evacuate. Two hours later, tanks rolled into the area.
He said his 62-year-old father, who had spent the night elsewhere, fled from house to house as Israeli forces moved in and saw them flattening structures with bulldozers and tanks. Both men managed to leave the evacuation zone.
The military declined to say if it had ordered the evacuation of aid groups based in the city, saying only that it maintains continuous contact with them and facilitates their relocation when necessary.
Tens of thousands of people have sought refuge in Deir al-Balah during repeated waves of mass displacement in Gaza.
The U.N. humanitarian coordinator says 87.8% of Gaza is now under evacuation orders or inside Israeli military zones, “leaving 2.1 million civilians squeezed into a fragmented 12 per cent of the Strip, where essential services have collapsed.”
Israel has taken over large areas of Gaza and split the territory with corridors stretching from the border to the sea as it seeks to pressure Hamas to release more hostages.
In response to the Deir al-Balah incursion, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum warned in its statement that “the people of Israel will not forgive anyone who knowingly endangered the hostages — both the living and the deceased. No one will be able to claim they didn’t know what was at stake.”
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Less than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Rare condemnation from U.N. food agency
The World Food Program, in a rare condemnation, said the crowd surrounding its convoy in northern Gaza on Sunday “came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire.” It said “countless lives” were lost. A photographer working with The Associated Press counted 51 bodies at two hospitals.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed. Israel’s military said it fired warning shots “to remove an immediate threat” and questioned the death toll reported by the Palestinians. It declined to comment on the WFP statement.
Hundreds of people have been killed while seeking food in recent weeks, both from U.N. convoys and separate aid sites run by an Israeli-backed group that has been mired in controversy.
The Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to more than 59,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count does not distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
