Israeli forces push into parts of central Gaza city that war largely spared
Deir al-Balah is the only Gaza city that hasn't seen major ground operations or suffered widespread devastation in 21 months of war, leading to speculation that the Hamas militant group holds large numbers of hostages there.
The main group representing hostages' families said it was 'shocked and alarmed" by the incursion, which was confirmed by an Israeli military official, 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.
The UN food agency, meanwhile, accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend. Gaza's Health Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war that has driven the territory to the brink of famine.
In the latest sign of international frustration, the United Kingdom, France and 23 other Western-aligned countries issued a statement saying 'the war in Gaza must end now." They harshly criticised Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid and called for the release of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza.
Evacuation orders dropped at dawn Tens of thousands of people have sought refuge in Deir al-Balah during repeated waves of mass displacement in Gaza.
Associated Press reporters heard explosions and saw smoke rising from parts of the city that were ordered evacuated on Sunday. The 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 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.
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.
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." Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the October 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Less than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Rare condemnation from UN food agency The World Food Programme, in a rare condemnation, said the crowd surrounding its convoy in northern Gaza on Sunday 'came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire." It said 'countless lives" were lost. A photographer working with The Associated Press counted 51 bodies at two hospitals.
Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed. Israel's military said it fired warning shots 'to remove an immediate threat" and questioned the death toll reported by the Palestinians. It declined to comment on the WFP statement.
Hundreds of people have been killed while seeking food in recent weeks, both from UN convoys and separate aid sites run by an Israeli-backed group that has been mired in controversy.
The Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to more than 59,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Its count doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Strikes across Gaza kill 18 Gaza health officials said at least 18 people, including three women and five children, were killed in Israeli strikes overnight and into Monday. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates from populated areas.
At least three people were killed when crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks were shot at in the area of Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, according to two hospitals that received the bodies.
Gaza's Health Ministry meanwhile said Israeli forces detained Dr. Marwan al-Hams, acting director of the strip's field hospitals and the ministry's spokesman. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Israel again strikes rebel-held port in Yemen The fighting in Gaza has triggered conflicts elsewhere in region, including between Israel and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have fired missiles and drones at Israel in what they say is in solidarity with Palestinians.
The Israeli military said it struck the Hodeidah port in Yemen early Monday. Israel has struck the port before, including two weeks ago, accusing the Houthis of using it to import arms from Iran.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the targets included areas of the port that Israel had destroyed in previous strikes. 'The Houthis will pay heavy prices for launching missiles towards the state of Israel," Katz said. (AP) GRS GRS
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments
First Published:
July 21, 2025, 21:30 IST
News agency-feeds Israeli forces push into parts of central Gaza city that war largely spared
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Kash Patel was very frustrated: Girlfriend Alexis Wilkins reveals FBI director's reaction when she was attacked over Epstein case
Kash Patel was very unhappy when his girlfriend Alexis Wilkins was dragged into Epstein controversy. FBI director Kash Patel 's girlfriend Alexis Wilkins said she would like to see the release of the rest of the files in connection with the Epstein case if people stop calling her a 'spy'. Wilkins, a singer, spoke about her relationship with Patel, her trolling in connection with the Epstein case in a wide-ranging interview with Megyn Kelly and also revealed Kash Patel's reaction to seeing her getting trolled over his work. Wilkins was called an Israeli agent as she works at PragerU. The CEI of PragerU, Marissa Streit, previously served in the Israeli army. "I knew that this is something people in the deep sides of the Internet like to pick at when they can't figure out what else is wrong," Wilkins said, adding that she was not bothered initially, but the virality of such views was bizarre. "The fact that it's accusing me of manipulating the person that I am with, I love, is a horrible accusation…' Wilkins said. — MegynKellyShow (@MegynKellyShow) Referring to what Kash Patel said at his confirmation, that he will welcome what people throw at him but not the FBI agents on the field, Wilkins said his response was similar as his girlfriend was at the line of fire. "He's fine with people coming after him, printing things that make sense, don't make sense, whatever. Ask him the questions. But when it came to me, he was very frustrated that something that's limited to teh government side, something that he's obviously dealing with, something that transparently I don't know anything about -- that's not he's allowed to talk about -- I have no awareness besides whatever everyone else is seeing. ..probably same questions everyone else was very unhappy to say the least..." Wilkins said. Kash Patel's girlfriend is Armenian and Christian and does not have any connection to Israel.
India Today
34 minutes ago
- India Today
US imposes visa bans on Palestinian officials for undermining Gaza peace
The US imposed sanctions on Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation on Thursday, accusing them of undermining peace efforts with Israel even as other Western powers moved toward recognition of Palestinian State Department said it would deny visas for travel to the US by those it was targeting, although it did not name any specific is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace," the State Department said in a statement. The State Department said the two Palestinian organisations had "taken actions to internationalise" their conflict with Israel, including through the International Criminal Court, and said both had continued "to support terrorism."The PA and PLO serve as representatives for the Palestinian people and have long pushed for recognition of a Palestinian state by international organisations and foreign nations. The two groups had no immediate comment on the US State Department made its announcement just a day after Canada said it planned to recognise the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September, ratcheting up pressure on Israel as starvation spreads in the Palestinian enclave of said last week it would back Palestinian statehood and Britain said it would do the same at September's UN General Assembly meeting if the fighting in Gaza had not stopped by President Donald Trump has insisted that recognition of Palestinian statehood would wrongly reward Hamas, the militant group that is battling Israel in the Gaza Strip. Since returning to office in January, Trump has been vague on his position on a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the has denounced the moves by France, Britain and Canada.'MORAL DISTORTION'Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a post on X, thanked the US for its "moral clarity" in sanctioning the Palestinian officials, saying the action "also exposes the moral distortion of certain countries that ran to recognise a virtual Palestinian state while turning a blind eye to its support for terror and incitement."It was not immediately clear how the US visa ban would affect Palestinian the 1947 UN "headquarters agreement," the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York. But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, terrorism and foreign policy US sanctions follow an international conference this week at the UN, hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, that aimed to work towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel and the US boycotted the on Thursday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a bid to salvage Gaza truce talks and tackle a humanitarian crisis in the enclave, where a global hunger monitor has warned that famine is Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli then, Israel's offensive has killed more than 60,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials, reduced much of the enclave to ruins and displaced nearly the entire population.- Ends
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
Act against publisher of book about changing Constitution: NCP (SP)
P une: NCP (SP) members held a protest at the district collector's office on Thursday demanding action against the publisher of a book which advocates changing the Constitution. The party's city unit chief Prashant Jagtap alleged, "The RSS's goal of 'constitutional change' is gaining momentum over the last 11 years with an RSS-led govt in the country. A book titled 'Samvidhan Ka Badlave?' (Why change the Constitution?) was published in the city a few days ago. It was possible because of the confidence prevailing under such a govt." He said, "Pune police's restriction on the book was a mere show. The publication ceremony proceeded smoothly and police took no action against organisers of the event." You Can Also Check: Pune AQI | Weather in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune "We condemn this govt-sponsored anti-constitutional act. We demand strict action against publishers of such books," Jagtap added.
