Israel Defence Forces push into new parts of Gaza

Israeli troops for the first time have pushed into areas of central Gaza where several aid groups are based, in what appears anothere attempt to make military corridors.

Smoke and flames erupt from an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Monday local time. AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi

Israeli troops for the first time pushed on Monday (Tuesday AEST) into areas of central Gaza where several aid groups are based, in what appears 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 the 21 months of war, leading to speculation the Hamas militant group may be holding hostages there.

The main group representing hostages’ families said it was “shocked and alarmed” by the incursion 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.

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.”

According to reports in Palestinian media on Tuesday, two people were killed and several injured in Deir al-Balah. It was reported that 16 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday in the Shati refugee camp in western Gaza City.

Men ride together in the back of a tricycle cart along Salah al-din road in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip while behind smoke billows from Israeli bombardment. Picture: Eyad Baba / AFP

Associated Press reporters heard explosions and saw smoke rising from parts of Deir al-Balah that were ordered evacuated on Sunday. An 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 World Health Organisation said Israeli forces raided its main staff residence in Deir al-Balah, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward the coast. Two WHO staff and two family members were detained, three of whom were later released while the other remains in detention, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The United Nations health agency said its main warehouse in the city, which is in the evacuation zone, was damaged by an explosion and a fire, hurting the agency's ability to help hospitals and emergency medical teams. There was no comment from the Israeli military.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric had earlier said two UN guesthouses in Deir al-Balah were damaged by shrapnel. He said the cause was still being investigated but that heavy Israeli air strikes had been reported in the area. Local and international staff will continue to work there, he said.

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.

Separately, the military announced that a 19-year-old soldier was killed and an officer was severely wounded in combat in southern Gaza.

Illumination flares launched by the Israeli army are seen over Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip on Monday. AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana

Off limits

Tens of thousands of people have sought refuge in Deir al-Balah during repeated waves of mass displacement in Gaza.

The UN humanitarian co-ordinator says 87.8 per cent 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.

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1200 people. Israel’s military says 49 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including 27 who are dead.

Israel blames the deaths of Palestinian civilians on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas, and it accuses the group of prolonging the war because Hamas has not accepted Israel's terms for a ceasefire.

Smoke billows from an Israeli bombardment as pictured from Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Picture: AFP

Talks hurdle

Hamas’ negotiators in Qatar have been unable to reach the terror group’s leaders in Gaza since late last week, preventing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal from moving forward, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

Last week, Israel submitted updated maps showing its proposed redeployment of troops during the 60-day truce under discussion.

Mediators were optimistic about the chances of an agreement as the proposal had Israel reducing previous demands to remain in control over larger swaths of Gaza, Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel. The diplomats said they expected Hamas to approve the Israeli maps.

But Hamas deliberations on the updated proposal have continued since Thursday without a response, the source said Monday, lamenting the daily loss of Palestinian lives in the Gaza Strip that have taken place in the interim.

The source said Israel’s ground operation into Deir al-Balah for the first time may further harm efforts to reach Hamas leaders when seeking a response to developments in Qatar.

Separate negotiations have been taking place in Cairo between Israeli and Egyptian officials that have focused on a new mechanism for aid distribution during the ceasefire under discussion.

The Times of Israel reported that those talks have been progressing well and that a meeting was planned for Tuesday between Egyptian, Israeli and UN officials. The goal is to move away from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, while still satisfying Israel, which argues that Hamas has exploited existing UN distribution mechanisms to divert aid, the source said.

AP