The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where it has not launched a ground offensive during its 21 months of war against Hamas.
Residents and displaced Palestinians are instructed to evacuate immediately and move towards al-Mawasi on the Mediterranean coast. This development has sparked widespread panic among tens of thousands of Palestinians and families of Israeli hostages who fear their relatives might be held in the city.
The evacuation demand comes as health officials at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital reported more than 40 people killed and dozens injured by Israeli fire while waiting for UN aid lorries on Sunday morning.
Hospitals in southern Gaza also reported additional deaths at aid distribution points. “The (Israeli) Defense Forces continues to operate with great force to destroy the enemy’s capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area,” the military stated, adding that it had not yet entered these districts during the war.
The United Nations has warned that civilians are starving in Gaza and called for an urgent influx of essential goods. Palestinian health officials said hundreds of people could soon die as hospitals are inundated with patients suffering from dizziness and exhaustion due to food scarcity. “We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger,” the health ministry stated. At least 71 children have died of malnutrition during the war, and 60,000 others are suffering from symptoms of malnutrition.
Pope Leo XIV has called for an “immediate end to the barbarity of the war” and urged against “indiscriminate use of force”. His comments came after a deadly Israeli strike hit Gaza’s only Catholic Church, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country deeply regretted.
The UNRWA has demanded Israel allow more aid trucks into Gaza, saying it has enough food for the entire population for over three months which is not being allowed in. “The Israeli Authorities are starving civilians in #Gaza. Among them are 1 million children. Lift the siege: allow UNRWA to bring in food and medicines,” it wrote on X.
The conflict began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza. The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 58,895 Palestinians, displaced almost the entire population, and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.