Israeli tanks have entered Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for the first time, sparking a new wave of displacement among civilians. The city, which has largely escaped major ground operations during Israel’s 21-month war with Hamas, saw tanks and military vehicles push into its southern and eastern areas on Monday, accompanied by heavy air and artillery strikes.
Local journalists reported that dozens of shells struck the Abu al-Ajin and Hikr al-Jami areas, with night-time footage shared on social media showing explosions and gunfire. Local medics confirmed that several people had been killed by shelling. The Israeli military ordered the immediate evacuation of six city blocks in southern Deir al-Balah on Sunday, warning that it would operate “with great force to destroy the enemy’s capabilities and terrorist infrastructure”.
The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that the evacuation order covered approximately 5.6 square kilometers of Deir al-Balah, home to between 50,000 and 80,000 people, including 30,000 in 57 camps for the displaced. OCHA emphasized that UN staff were remaining in Deir al-Balah, spread across dozens of premises whose coordinates had been shared with Israel, and stressed that they must be protected.
The affected areas house several aid warehouses, four primary health clinics, four medical points, a water desalination plant, three water wells, a water reservoir, a solid waste dumping site, and a wastewater pumping station. Any damage to this infrastructure would have life-threatening consequences, according to OCHA.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) reported that several humanitarian organizations’ offices and guesthouses had been ordered to evacuate immediately by the Israeli military. Nine clinics, including MAP’s Solidarity Polyclinic, which cared for around 320 patients daily, had been shut down, and five shelters and a community kitchen had also closed.
MAP’s spokeswoman, Mai Elawawda, described the situation as “extremely critical,” saying, “Shelling is taking place all around our office, and military vehicles are just 400 meters away from our colleagues and their families, who endured a harrowing night after relocating there.” Leila Ezzat al-Shana and her family, who fled from the Bureij refugee camp, reported seeing tanks and snipers everywhere, stating, “It’s a miracle to stay alive. People are losing their minds and falling to the ground due to the lack of food.”
The UK and 24 other nations condemned the killing of hundreds of Palestinians at food aid points, stating, “The war in Gaza must end now. The suffering of civilians has reached new depths.” The World Food Programme warned that Gaza’s hunger crisis had “reached new levels of desperation” after over 100 people were reportedly killed while waiting for food over the weekend. The Israeli foreign ministry reported that 4,400 truckloads of humanitarian aid had entered Gaza from Israel since mid-May, with another 700 truckloads waiting to be picked up by the UN.
Hostages’ families expressed concern that an offensive could endanger their loved ones, with one family asking, “Can anyone promise to us that this decision will not come at the cost of losing our loved ones?” According to the UN, about 87.8% of Gaza is now covered by Israeli evacuation orders or is within Israeli militarized zones, leaving the 2.1 million population squeezed into approximately 46 square kilometers of land where essential services have collapsed.