Israeli forces launch ground assault on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for first time
Israel has launched a ground and air assault on the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has said.
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The charity warned the latest action by the Israeli military endangers humanitarian and healthcare sites.
The operation began on Monday morning, just hours after Israel's military issued evacuation orders for areas of central Gaza.
The order covers an area stretching from a previously evacuated area all the way to the Mediterranean coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza.
The area affected is one of the few areas where Israel has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organisations attempting to distribute aid are located.
MAP said in a statement that several humanitarian organisations' offices and guesthouses had been "ordered to evacuate immediately" and nine clinics, including the MAP one, had been forced to shut down.
The area is packed with thousands of displaced people from southern Gaza. Israeli sources have told Reuters, they believe some hostages may be being held there.
Read more: Dozens of Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire near aid sites in Gaza
The action comes a day after at least 85 people were killed while trying to reach aid at locations across Gaza, making it the deadliest day yet for people seeking aid in more than 21 months of war.
The UN World Food Programme said 25 trucks with aid had entered for "starving communities" when it encountered massive crowds that came under gunfire.
A UN official said Israeli forces opened fire towards the crowds who tried to take food from the convoy. Footage taken by the UN and shared with the Associated Press showed Palestinian men running as the sound of automatic gunfire could be heard.
"Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours," Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour, said.
"I will never go back again. Let us die of hunger, it's better."
Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people "randomly" and he saw his cousin and others shot dead.
Israel's military said soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found.
The military said it was attempting to facilitate the entry of aid, and accused Hamas militants of creating chaos and endangering civilians.
More than 150 people were wounded overall, with some in critical condition, hospitals said.
Separately, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis in the south, including a five-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialised Field Hospital, which received the casualties.
The killings in northern Gaza did not take place near aid distribution points associated with the recently created Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israel-backed group.
Witnesses and health workers say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli fire while trying to access the group's aid distribution sites.
Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.
Earlier this month, Israel's military said it controlled more than 65% of Gaza.
Gaza's population of more than two million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory. Many people have been displaced multiple times.
Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.
Israel's military offensive has killed more than 58,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not say how many militants have been killed but says more than half of the dead have been women and children.