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Israel launches ground assault on central Gazan city, says charity
Medical aid has been suspended to a city in central Gaza due to an Israeli ground assault there, a charity has said.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said the Israeli military had launched a ground invasion of the city of Deir al Balah this morning.
It added that thousands of displaced people are living in the area, including MAP staff, and the latest orders by Israel “directly endanger vital humanitarian and primary healthcare sites”.
It said the “forced displacement orders do not allow for the transport of lifesaving medical equipment or supplies” and this was “further obstructing efforts to provide emergency assistance”.
Steve Cutts, MAP’s interim CEO, said: “This latest forced displacement order is yet another attack on humanitarian operations and a deliberate attempt to sever the last remaining threads of Gaza’s health and aid system.
“MAP now has to suspend critical services we have been providing to the Palestinian population, including a primary health clinic that serves hundreds of civilians every day. With Israel’s systematic targeting of health and aid workers, no one is safe.
“Not only are we prevented from carrying out our lifesaving work to support Palestinians, we are also unable to protect our own teams.”
Gaza medics said at least three Palestinians were killed and several were wounded in tank shelling that hit three mosques and eight houses, Reuters news agency reported.
Israeli sources said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) had previously stayed out of Deir Al Balah because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there, Reuters added.
At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive.
Humanitarian concerns are growing in Deir al Balah. Pic: AP
Pic: Reuters
‘People were simply trying to access food’
The UN food agency has accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid.
The World Food Programme (WFP) condemned the violence that erupted in northern Gaza as Palestinians tried to reach a convoy of trucks carrying food.
Gaza’s health ministry said at least 80 people were killed in the incident.
The Israeli military said it fired warning shots “to remove an immediate threat” – and questioned the number of those killed as reported by the Palestinians.
The WFP statement said the incident resulted in the loss of “countless lives” – and how the crowd surrounding its convoy “came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire”.
“These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation,” it added.
Earlier, the WFP said that shortly after entering Gaza, a convoy of 25 trucks carrying food aid encountered “massive crowds of hungry civilians” who then came under gunfire.
“WFP reiterates that any violence involving civilians seeking humanitarian aid is completely unacceptable,” it said.
Smoke and flames rise from a residential area in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
UNRWA, the UN refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, said in a social media post it was receiving messages from Gaza warning of starvation, including from its own staff, as food prices have increased 40-fold.
“Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, stockpiled in warehouses UNRWA has enough food for the entire population for over three months. Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale,” it said.
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Dozens killed at aid sites, says Gaza’s health ministry
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In Khan Younis earlier on Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five people in a tent, including a man, his wife, and their two children, medics said.
Israel is yet to comment on the incidents.
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Meanwhile, Pope Leo warned against the “indiscriminate use of force” and the “forced mass displacement” of people in Gaza in a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday, the Vatican said in a statement.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to health officials.