The IDF reported that it killed a commander in Hamas’ weapons production headquarters, Bashar Thabet, in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, on July 10.

“The terrorist was responsible for research and development activities within Hamas’ weapons manufacturing apparatus, which operates to restore and increase the weapons stockpile of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip,” the army said.

Additionally, the army said troops have been operating to dismantle terrorist infrastructure throughout the Gaza Strip. Over the past day, the air force struck about 75 terror targets, including terrorists and military compounds, it said.

Israel issues new evacuation orders in crowded central Gazan city

The IDF has conducted airstrikes in the area, but it has not yet deployed ground troops.

The evacuation demand, which could signal an imminent attack, has caused widespread panic among tens of thousands of Palestinians, as well as the families of Israeli hostages who fear their relatives are being held in the city.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that residents and displaced Palestinians sheltering in the city of Deir al-Balah should evacuate immediately and move towards al-Mawasi on the Mediterranean coast.

The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for a crowded part of central Gaza where it has not launched a ground offensive during its 21 months of war against Hamas.

On Sunday, the Israeli military dropped leaflets from the sky ordering people in several districts in southwest Deir al-Balah to leave their homes and head further south.

“The (Israeli) Defense Forces continues to operate with great force to destroy the enemy’s capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area,” the military said, adding that it had not yet entered these districts during the war.

The affected neighbourhoods of Deir al-Balah are crowded with displaced people living in tents.

Israeli sources told Reuters news agency that the reason the army has stayed out of these districts so far 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.

Most of the Strip’s population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during Israel’s war with Hamas, with repeated Israeli evacuation calls covering large parts of the territory.

The new evacuation orders came as health officials at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital said more than 40 people were killed and dozens injured by Israeli fire as crowds gathered to await the entry of UN aid lorries on Sunday morning.

Hospitals in the south said more people were also killed at aid points there.

The BBC has contacted the Israeli military to ask for a response.

The UN says civilians are starving in Gaza and has called for an urgent influx of essential goods.

But there have been almost daily reports of Palestinians being killed while seeking aid since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operations in late May. Witnesses say most have been shot by Israeli forces. Israel says the new distribution system stops aid going to Hamas.

Israel launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 others being taken hostage.

Israeli attacks have since killed more than 58,895 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry’s figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties.

The Israeli military issued evacuation orders Sunday in areas of central Gaza packed with displaced Palestinians where it hasn’t operated so far in its war with Hamas, while medics said at least 30 people were killed waiting for aid as hunger mounts.

The military evacuation demand, which could signal an imminent attack on neighborhoods in Deir al-Balah, alarmed the families of Israeli hostages, who fear their relatives are being held there.

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

The area of Gaza under the evacuation order is also where many international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located.

GAZA, — The Israeli military published new evacuation warnings for areas of central Gaza on Sunday, 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 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, though negotiations have been stalled for months.

The area of Gaza under the evacuation order is also where many international organizations attempting to distribute aid are located. The organizations did not immediately comment on the evacuation warnings.

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 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Hamas triggered the 21-month war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty remain, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.

Israel’s military offensive that followed has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many 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 government but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

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

The Israeli military on Sunday issued an evacuation order for a new area of central Gaza, causing panic among Palestinians afraid that Israel was set to expand its ground invasion of the enclave.

Many Palestinians have already been displaced several times from other parts of the enclave and had sought refuge in the area in central Gaza that is now marked for evacuation. The area has remained largely intact during the devastating 21-month Israeli campaign.

It was not immediately clear if the evacuation notice for parts of the city of Deir Al-Balah portended an imminent expansion of Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip or was meant as a pressure tactic to wrest concessions from Hamas in the sluggish negotiations for a cease-fire.

More than 57,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children, have been killed during the war, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The war was ignited by a Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others taken hostage.