Israeli tanks for the first time in the southern and eastern neighborhoods of Deir al-Balah: The army suspects that there are hostages there?

Israeli tanks entered the southern and eastern neighborhoods of the Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah for the first time today, an area where Israeli sources say the military suspects hostages may be being held, Reuters reports.

The area is full of Palestinians displaced during the more than 21-month war in Gaza, with hundreds of them fleeing west and south after Israel issued an evacuation order, saying it aimed to destroy the infrastructure and capabilities of the Hamas militant group.

Tank shelling hit homes and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several others, local medics said.

In the south, in Khan Yunis, an Israeli airstrike killed at least five people, including a husband, wife and their two children who were in a tent, the same sources said.

Huge number of victims

The Gaza Health Ministry said in its daily report that at least 130 Palestinians were killed and more than 1.000 wounded in Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours.

There was no comment from the Israeli side on the incidents in Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis.

Israeli sources say the military has so far avoided raiding those neighborhoods because Hamas was suspected of holding hostages there. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to be still alive.

Hostage families seek answers

The families of the hostages have expressed concern and are demanding an explanation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, and the Chief of Staff of the General Staff on how they plan to protect the hostages.

"The people of Israel will not forgive anyone who knowingly put hostages – both living and dead – in danger. No one will be able to say they did not know what was at stake," the Hostage Families Headquarters said.

Smooth

Health officials are warning of possible "mass deaths" from hunger in the coming days, saying at least 19 people have died of hunger since Saturday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Hospitals lack fuel, food, and medicine, which jeopardizes the continuation of basic medical interventions.

Health Ministry spokesman Khalil Al-Dekran said medical staff are surviving on just one meal a day, while hundreds of people gather outside hospitals every day due to exhaustion.

In southern Gaza, the health ministry said an Israeli special unit arrested Marwan Al-Hams, director of Gaza's field hospitals, in a raid that killed a local journalist and wounded another, outside a field medical center run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

An ICRC spokesman said they had provided medical assistance to the injured, but did not provide further information. It said they were "very concerned about the safety and security" around the field hospital.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel has raided hospitals across Gaza during the war, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes, a charge the group denies. Sending in covert forces to make arrests is rare.

The incursion into Deir al-Balah and the rising death toll appear to be complicating efforts to secure a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in talks brokered by Qatar and Egypt, with US support.

A Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday that the militant group was angry about the rising death toll and hunger crisis, and that it could affect negotiations on a 60-day ceasefire and a hostage agreement.

Help is waiting.

UNRVA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, said on the X network that it was receiving desperate messages from Gaza warning of famine, including from its own employees, while food prices had risen drastically.

"Meanwhile, just outside Gaza, UNRVA has enough food in warehouses to feed the entire population for more than three months. Lift the siege and allow safe and large-scale aid entry," the statement said.

The Health Ministry said on Sunday that at least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for trucks carrying United Nations humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. The day before, according to the same source, at least 36 people seeking help were killed.

The Israeli military said its troops fired warning shots to eliminate what it said was an "imminent threat." It added that initial findings indicated the casualty figures may have been exaggerated.

The Israeli military also stated that it "considers the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip a matter of the utmost importance, and is working to enable and facilitate its entry in coordination with the international community."

The war began when Hamas-led militants invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1.200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli figures.

Since then, Israel's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 59.000 Palestinians, according to health authorities, displaced almost the entire population and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.