GAZA (Dispatches) – In a major escalation of its military aggression in Gaza, Israeli forces launched a fresh ground incursion into the city of Deir al-Balah on Monday, targeting areas previously untouched by tanks during the 21-month-long war. 
The move came amid growing fears for civilians trapped by Israel’s ongoing bombardments, the deepening humanitarian catastrophe, and stalled ceasefire negotiations with Hamas.
Deir al-Balah has remained the only city in Gaza untouched by major ground operations or widespread destruction throughout the 21 months of conflict. 
It also serves as a base for several humanitarian organizations, highlighting its strategic importance amid what appears to be a new Israeli effort to segment the Palestinian territory through controlled military corridors.
Israeli tanks and ground forces pushed into the southern and eastern districts of Deir al-Balah, an area densely packed with displaced Palestinians. 
Witnesses and medics reported intense shelling that struck homes and mosques, killing at least three people and wounding several more.  
Residents were ordered to evacuate toward the already overcrowded coastal zone of Al-Mawasi, where hundreds of thousands of displaced families are sheltering without access to adequate food, water, or sanitation. 
Israeli forces also targeted Khan Yunis, where an airstrike killed at least five civilians—including a couple and their two children sheltering in a tent, medics confirmed.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 130 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded across the territory in just 24 hours—one of the highest daily casualty tolls in recent weeks. The ministry warned of “mass deaths” from hunger if the siege continues. At least 19 Palestinians, many of them children, have died from malnutrition in the past three days alone.
Medical facilities are collapsing under the blockade. Khalil Al-Deqran, spokesperson for Gaza’s Health Ministry, said hospitals are operating on minimal fuel and medicine, and that medical staff are surviving on one meal per day. He said hundreds of people arrive daily at overwhelmed hospitals suffering from starvation and exhaustion.
In a particularly brazen act, Israeli undercover forces reportedly raided a field medical facility operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in southern Gaza. 
During the raid, Marwan al-Hams, head of Gaza’s field hospitals, was detained, a local journalist was killed, and another wounded. The ICRC said it treated several of the wounded but declined to comment further, only expressing “deep concern” for the safety of its medical staff.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned of impending famine, revealing that it has three months’ worth of food aid stockpiled just outside Gaza. However, the aid remains blocked from entry. “Lift the siege and let aid in safely and at scale,” UNRWA stated on X, highlighting desperate messages from its staff and residents inside Gaza.
Amid the humanitarian collapse, ceasefire talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar—with U.S. backing—have once again faltered. Hamas has voiced outrage over the skyrocketing civilian death toll and the worsening hunger crisis, warning that these developments could derail negotiations.
Israeli officials insist on continuing the war until Hamas is defeated. Hamas has rejected any proposal short of a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal, refusing prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand that it lay down its arms.
In a new development, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has reportedly presented an alternative strategy: expanding ground control across Gaza rather than implementing the controversial “humanitarian city” plan proposed by war minister Israel Katz.