Israel-Hamas War: 85 Palestinians killed while seeking food, evacuation orders issued in Central Gaza

At least 85 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach food, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday, entering the 21st month of the war in the Middle East, according to news agency AP.

There was a new alarm as Israel's military issued evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and where many international organisations trying to distribute aid are located, the agency said.

The highest death toll was reported in devastated northern Gaza, where living conditions are especially dire. At least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry’s records department, told The Associated Press.

A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity with AP, said Israeli forces opened fire toward crowds who tried to take food from the convoy.

“Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,” Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour and said he hadn't eaten bread in 15 days, told AP.

Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people “randomly”, and he saw his cousin and others shot dead.

AP quoted Israel's military saying soldiers shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found. It accused Hamas militants of creating chaos.

More than 150 people were wounded, some in critical condition, hospitals said.

The new evacuation orders cut access between the central city of Deir al-Balah and Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow territory. The military also reiterated evacuation orders for northern Gaza.

Palestinians were startled to see the orders for parts of Deir al-Balah, a relative haven. "All of Rafah is under evacuation, and now you have decided that half of Deir al-Balah is under evacuation. Where will we move to?” asked resident Hassan Abu Azab, as others piled everything from bedding to live ducks onto carts and other vehicles. Smoke rose in the distance, with blasts and the sound of a siren.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee called for people to head to Muwasi, a desolate tent camp with little infrastructure on Gaza’s southern coast that Israel's military has designated a humanitarian zone.

The announcement came as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly asserted that expanding Israel's military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas in negotiations.

Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, now relying largely on the limited aid allowed into the territory, AO said