Israeli tanks entered Deir al-Balah for the first time in central Gaza, triggering a new wave of civilians.
On Monday, tanks entered the southern and eastern parts of the city amid heavy air and artillery attacks, the day after Israel ordered residents of several areas to leave, local journalists said.
Deir Al-Balah is one of the few areas in Gaza where Israel has not conducted large-scale ground operations during the 21-month war with Hamas.
Meanwhile, the UK and 24 other countries killed hundreds of Palestinians at food aid sites. “The war in Gaza must end now,” they said. “The suffering of civilians has reached a new depth.”
The UN said Deir al-Balah’s evacuation order affected thousands of Palestinians and dealt “another devastating blow” to humanitarian efforts.
These communities contain dozens of camps for displaced families as well as aid warehouses, health clinics and critical water infrastructure.
Local journalists told the BBC that Israeli tanks and other military vehicles entered Dil Albara from Monday’s direction of the crossing of Kissom and under cover of heavy artillery and air strikes.
They said dozens of shells attacked the Abu al-Ajin and Hikr al-Jami areas.
Nighttime video shared on social media shows the sound of explosions and gunfire. Local medical staff said several people were killed by shelling.
A spokeswoman for the British Charity Medical Assistance (MAP), which runs the clinic in Deir Al-Balah, said the situation was “extremely important.”
“Architecture was carried out around our office, and military vehicles were only 400m away from our colleagues and their families, who had endured a painful night after they moved there,” Mai Elawawda said in a statement.
On Sunday, the Israeli military ordered the immediate evacuation of six urban neighborhoods south of Deir al Balah, warning that it would “have the power to destroy the enemy and the terrorist infrastructure.”
Leila Ezzat al-Shana and her family – including two young children and her sister son whose legs have been amputated – escaped from the Bureij refugee camp on Monday, about 5 km (2.5 miles).
“[Bureij] She said: “We are a very dangerous place. We saw the tanks in front of us. There were so many sniper shooting everywhere. The camera entered the house in front of me… It was a miracle to stay alive.
“People are losing their minds and they are landing on the ground due to lack of food.”
The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Sunday that hundreds of families have fled.
It said the evacuation order covers about 5.6 square kilometers (2.2 square miles) of Deir al-Balah, where there are 50,000 to 80,000 people, including 57 camps for 57 displaced persons.
Ocha said UN staff remained in Deir al-Balah, distributed among dozens of sites with coordinates shared with Israel, and stressed that they must be protected.
The affected areas house several aid warehouses, four primary health clinics, four medical sites, a water desalination plant, three wells, a reservoir, a solid waste dump site and a wastewater pumping station.
“Any damage to this infrastructure will have life-threatening consequences,” it said.
Palestinian medical aid says the Israeli military “orders to evacuate immediately” the offices and hotels of humanitarian organizations.
It added that nine clinics, including MAP’s Solidarity Clinic (only caring for 320 patients per day) were closed. Five shelters and community kitchens are also closed.
The IDF said it is maintaining “continuous and ongoing ties” with international aid organizations to help evacuate “basic institutions.” It has no comment on military operations.
More than a year ago, after Israeli ground forces entered the southern city of Rafa, the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies transferred key parts of their operations to Deir al-Balah.
Israeli sources say the possible existence of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas is one of the reasons why Deir Al-Balah has escaped the battle so far. At least 20 of the 50 hostages believed to be still in prison are still alive.
The hostage family expressed concerns that the offense could endanger them.
“Who can [promise] For us, will this decision not be realized at the cost of losing a loved one? ” they said on Sunday.
According to the United Nations, about 87.8% of Gaza people are now covered by Israel’s evacuation orders, or within Israel’s militarization zone, 2.1 million people have been squeezed into about 46 square kilometers of land, and basic services have collapsed.
Smoke rose after Israel’s strike in Deir al-Balah area on Monday [Reuters]
Meanwhile, the World Food Programme warned that the hunger crisis in Gaza “has reached new despair”, with more than 100 people reportedly killed while waiting for food over the weekend.
At least 67 people were killed on Sunday when they poured in toward WFP aid trucks near Zikim Crossing Point in northern Gaza, according to the Hamas-operated health ministry. The Israeli military said its soldiers shot warning shots at thousands of people to eliminate the direct threat”.
“The 90,000 women and children who are in urgent need of treatment are surging. One third of them have not eaten for several days,” the committee said.
“Only large-scale distribution of food aid can stabilize this spiral.”
In their joint statement, a group of 25 countries, including European countries, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, condemned what they said was “assistance aid and inhumane killings of civilians, including children.”
“It is shocking that more than 800 Palestinians were killed while seeking aid.”
It condemned Hamas’s refusal to release all hostages and said “the negotiated ceasefire gives them the greatest hope of bringing home.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that 4,400 trucks of humanitarian aid have entered Gaza from Israel since mid-May, when it partially eased the total lockdown for delivery that lasted 11 weeks. It added that another 700 truck loads were waiting for the United Nations to take over from the Gaza side of its crossing point.
Israel retaliated against Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, launching a war in Gaza, killing about 1,200 people and causing 251 hostages to be taken.
Since then, Israeli attacks have killed at least 58,895 people in Gaza, according to the region’s Ministry of Health.
