Israel fire kills dozens more aid seekers in Gaza, medics say, as military prepares to launch new Gaza ground op

At least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire while they waited for U.N. aid trucks in northern Gaza on Sunday, the territory’s health ministry said, as Israel issued new evacuation orders for areas packed with displaced Gazans, some of whom began to leave.

The ministry said dozens of people were also wounded in the incident in northern Gaza, in one of the highest reported tolls among repeated recent cases in which aid seekers have been killed, including 36 on Saturday. Six other people were killed near another aid site in the south, it said.

The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots towards a crowd of thousands in northern Gaza on Sunday to remove what it said was “an immediate threat”.

It said initial findings suggested reported casualty figures were inflated, and it “certainly does not intentionally target humanitarian aid trucks”.

It did not immediately comment on the incident in the south.

In total, health authorities said 88 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across Gaza on Sunday.

After Israel’s military dropped leaflets urging people to evacuate from neighbourhoods in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, residents said Israeli planes struck three houses in the area.

Dozens of families began leaving their homes, carrying some of their belongings. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans have been sheltering in the Deir al-Balah area.

Israel’s military said it had not entered the districts subject to the evacuation order during the current conflict and that it was continuing “to operate with great force to destroy the enemy’s capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area”.

Israeli sources have said the reason the army has so far stayed out is because they suspect Hamas might be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in captivity in Gaza are believed to still be alive.

Hostage families demanded an explanation from the army.

“Can anyone (promise) to us that this decision will not come at the cost of losing our loved ones?” the families said in a statement.

STARVATION

Much of Gaza has been reduced to a wasteland during more than 21 months of war and there are fears of accelerating starvation.

Palestinian health officials said hundreds of people could soon die as hospitals were inundated with patients suffering from dizziness and exhaustion due to the scarcity of food and a collapse in aid deliveries.

“We warn that hundreds of people whose bodies have wasted away are at risk of imminent death due to hunger,” the health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said.

The United Nations also said on Sunday that civilians were starving and needed an urgent influx of aid.

Residents said it was becoming impossible to find essential food such as flour. The Gaza health ministry said at least 71 children had died of malnutrition during the war, and 60,000 others were suffering from symptoms of malnutrition.

Later on Sunday, it said 18 people have died of hunger in the past 24 hours.

Food prices have increased well beyond what most of the population of more than two million can afford.

Several people who spoke to Reuters via chat apps said they either had one meal or no meal in the past 24 hours.

“As a father, I wake up in the early morning to look for food, for even a loaf of bread for my five children, but all in vain,” said Ziad, a nurse.

“People who didn’t die of bombs will die of hunger. We want an end to this war now, a truce, even for two months,” he told Reuters.

Others said they felt dizzy walking in the streets and that many fainted as they walked. Fathers leave tents to avoid questions by their children about what to eat.

UNRWA, the U.N. refugee agency dedicated to Palestinians, demanded Israel allow more aid trucks into Gaza, saying it had enough food for the entire population for over three months which was not allowed in.

Israel’s military said that it “views the transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as a matter of utmost importance, and works to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community”.

TRUCE TALKS

Some Palestinians suggested the move on Deir al-Balah might be an attempt to put pressure on Hamas to make more concessions in long-running ceasefire negotiations.

Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a 60-day truce and hostage deal, although there has been no sign of breakthrough.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza.

The Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 58,000 Palestinians according to health officials, displaced almost the entire population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.

Israeli military prepares to launch new Gaza ground op

The Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on July 20, in one of the few areas 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 area of Gaza under the evacuation order is also where many international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located

Deir al-Balah is one of the few places in the strip where the military has not yet operated with ground troops because it believed Hamas to be holding hostages there, though it has conducted airstrikes in the city.

Hamas has vowed to execute captives if the Israeli army approaches, according to the Israeli media.

Israel was "expanding its activities" around Deir el-Balah, including "in an area where it has not operated before,” the military said, telling Palestinians to "move south toward the al-Mawasi area" on the Mediterranean coast "for your safety.”

The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organization that represents many 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 said.

On July 19 night, during the weekly protest, tens of thousands of protesters marched in Tel Aviv, demonstrating for an end to the war.

On the ground, Gaza's civil defense agency told AFP on July 20 that Israeli strikes overnight killed at least seven people in Gaza City and in parts of the territory's south.

Delegations from Israel and militant group Hamas have spent the last two weeks in indirect talks for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and the release of 10 living hostages.

Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs. Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that expanding Israeli military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas to negotiate, though negotiations have been stalled for months.