Israel launches Deir Al Balah ground operation and attacks areas of Gaza for first time

• Israel has launched a ground and air assault on the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, where it had not previously launched a ground attack
• The area is packed with thousands of displaced people from southern Gaza - it's also assumed that Israeli hostages are being held there
• The Israeli operation began early on Monday - local journalists told the BBC that tanks and military vehicles pushed into the city under heavy artillery and air cover
• Israeli air strikes on other parts of Gaza continue - pictures from Gaza City captured the moment a missile hit a building on Monday morning
• Meanwhile, a local doctor and official from the Hamas-run health ministry says 19 people have died of starvation in the past 24 hours in Gaza
• Israel does not allow the BBC and other international media into Gaza to report freely.

The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it will launch ground operations in parts of central Gaza which it has not invaded since the war began, at a time when the strip’s population faces severe bombardment and critical shortages of humanitarian aid.

The offensive in Deir Al Balah was announced by Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman Lt Col Avichay Adraee, who wrote in a post on X: “[The Israeli military] continues to operate with great force to destroy the enemy's capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area, as it expands its activities in this region to operate in an area it has not operated in before”. Lt Col Adraee ordered residents of the attacked areas to move south to the Al Mawasi area.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​The death toll in Gaza stands at 58,895 people, according to the strip’s Health Minsitry. Medical sources said 85 Palestinians aid seekers were killed on Sunday, 67 of whom were in the north, the latest example of Israeli troops attacking Palestinians waiting for supplies as the humanitarian situation in the region spirals.

https://x.com/AvichayAdraee/status/1946802114421821706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1946802114421821706%7Ctwgr%5Ef297daa12e8702f080faf0dba6553b433121cf33%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fnews%2Fmena%2F2025%2F07%2F20%2Fisrael-gaza-war-deir-al-balah%2F

The expanded military operation comes after hopes earlier in the month that Hamas and Israel were edging towards a hostage-ceasefire deal. Progress stalled over the extent to which Israeli troops would withdraw during the phases of an agreement.

There are also fears the offensive might be part of a wider plan to force Gazans into a concentration zone in the very south of the strip, a plan that has been floated by senior Israeli officials in recent days. The military's displacement order cuts access between Deir Al Balah and the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, the latter of which Israel’s defence minister wants to turn into the a “humanitarian city”.

Israeli media reported that that the military has delayed entering Deir Al Balah due to fears that Israeli hostages captured on October 7 are being held in the area and that operations would endanger them. The lower rate of military operations also means that many displaced Gazans have sought refuge in the area and is where many international organisations are attempting to distribute aid.

The UN has been in contact with Israeli authorities to clarify whether their facilities in Deir Al Balah are included in Sunday’s displacement order, a UN official told AP. The official said in previous instances UN facilities were spared from evacuation orders.

UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, wrote in a post on X on Sunday that “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”. **(thenationalnews) **