Israeli forces launch ground assault in central Gazan city for first time ...Middle East

Israel has sent tanks into the central Gazan city of Deir Al-Balah for the first time, where thousands of displaced people are sheltering and some of the remaining hostages are reportedly being held.

At least three Palestinians have been killed and several more wounded after tank shelling hit eight houses and three mosques in the area, medics told Reuters news agency.

A further five people – reported to include parents and their two children who were living in a tent – were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Monday morning.

Israeli sources said that the military had so far avoided Deir Al-Balah because it believes that Hamas may be holding hostages there. At least 20 of the 50 hostages held in Gaza are believed to be alive.

British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said it was forced to suspend many of its operations after the Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate the Deir al-Balah area on Sunday.

Nine clinics, five shelters and a community kitchen have closed, MAP said, and the did not allow humanitarians to transport medical equipment or supplies out of the area.

Shelling was ongoing around their office in Deir al-Balah on Monday morning and locals were unsure of where to go next, the charity said.

People flee carrying their possessions in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, ahead of the Israeli offensive. (Photo: Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Key infrastructure, including a major water desalination plant that provides clean water to people driven from their homes, also falls within the forced displacement orders and “remains at high risk”, a spokesperson for the charity said.

Newborn babies were starving to death because mothers were too malnourished to produce breastmilk and there was no longer enough baby formula in Gaza, interim CEO Steve Cutts said.

Children starving to death in Gaza

It comes as health officials in Gaza warned of a growing risk of “mass death” in Gaza from starvation, as aid deliveries into Gaza remain limited by Israel.

At least 19 people – including children – have died from hunger in the last 24 hours alone, according to Dr Khalil Al-Deqran, spokesperson for the Hamas-run health ministry.

“Hospitals can no longer provide food for patients or staff, many of whom are physically unable to continue working due to extreme hunger,” he said.

“Hospitals cannot provide a single bottle of milk to children suffering from hunger, because all baby formula has run out from the market.”

At least 93 people were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for aid at the northern Zimkim crossing on Sunday, Gaza’s civil defence agency said, the latest in a string of killings at aid sites.

The figure was initially reported to be 67 dead.

The Israeli military said it had fired warning shots into a crowd in northern Gaza to remove an “immediate threat” and that casualty figures were inflated.

Nine others were reportedly shot dead near an aid point close to Rafah in the south, a civil defence spokesperson said.

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