Israel orders evacuations in central Gaza as ceasefire talks stall and military offensive widens

DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip AP The Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday in one of the sparse areas where the military has rarely operated with ground troops The evacuation cuts access between the city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow enclave The announcement comes as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that expanding Israeli military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas to negotiate but negotiations have been stalled for months Earlier this month the Israeli military declared it controlled more than of the Gaza Strip Also on Sunday Palestinians were killed multiple while attempting to seek aid according to local hospitals Shifa Hospital director Mohamed Abu Selmiyah communicated The Associated Press that the hospital since Sunday morning had received people who were killed and who were wounded while seeking aid from trucks expected to enter Gaza from the Zikim Traversing on the northern perimeter between Gaza and Israel He substantiated that at least people of those killed were fatally shot It is unclear whether they were killed by the Israeli army or armed gangs or both However that death toll is likely to increase explained Abu Selmiyah In southern Gaza Nasser hospital noted Palestinians were killed and wounded around aid distribution sites in the southern city of Rafah Cutting off access The area of Gaza under the evacuation order is where several international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located The United Nations has been in contact with the Israeli personnel to clarify whether U N facilities in southwestern Deir al-Balah are included in Sunday s evacuation order according to a U N official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media The official stated in previous instances U N facilities were spared from evacuation orders The evacuation announcement reaches from a previously evacuated area all the way to the coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza Military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned that the military will attack with intensity against militants He called for residents including those sheltering in tents to head to the Muwasi area a desolate tent camp on Gaza s southern shore that the Israeli military has designated a humanitarian zone Gaza s population of more than million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian emergency Hamas triggered the -month war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct killing around people and taking others hostage Fifty remain but fewer than half are thought to be alive Israel s military offensive that followed has killed more than Palestinians according to the Gaza Strength Ministry which doesn t say how multiple militants are among the dead but says more than half of the dead have been women and children The ministry is part of the Hamas administration but the U N and other international organizations see it as the greater part reliable source of evidence on casualties The Hostages Family Forum a grassroots organization that represents several of the families of hostages condemned the evacuation announcement and demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military explain what they hope to accomplish in the area of central Gaza accusing Israel of operating without a clear war plan Enough The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all of the hostages the forum reported On Saturday night during the weekly protest tens of thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv to the branch of the U S Embassy demonstrating for an end to the war Humanitarian mishap grows On Sunday morning ambulances in front of three major hospitals in Gaza sounded their alarms simultaneously in an urgent appeal to shed light on the hunger emergency in the territory The physical condition ministry posted pictures on social media of doctors holding paper signs about malnourished children and lack of medication Zaher al-Wahidi one of the spokespeople at the fitness ministry explained that at least nine children under years old have died of malnutrition as of Sunday since the Israel s imposed aid entry blockade in March He explained that tracking the number of people dying of starvation is hard because specific could be suffering from other biological conditions that could be worsened when compounded with severe hunger In northern Gaza Shifa Hospital director Abu Selmiyah stated that the hospital recorded people who died of malnutrition in the past month Israeli bombardments continued to pound the Gaza Strip overnight Large explosions in northern Gaza were visible from Israel as plumes of fire shot into the sky Magdy revealed from Cairo and Lidman from Tel Aviv Israel Associated Press writer Fatma Khaled contributed from Cairo Source