The Israeli military on 20 July said it was preparing to launch a ground operation in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip – for the first time since hostilities began in October 2023. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) issued a special warning to residents in the southwestern parts of the city urging them to evacuate.
The Israeli military said it was expanding its operations in the Strip to areas it had not previously used. The operations are said to be aimed at destroying the infrastructure of Hamas, a group recognised as a terrorist group in the US and EU.”
The impending offensive in Deir el-Balah is being reported amid indirect talks on a ceasefire and the release of held hostages. “Hamas says a deal could be struck as early as next week.”
Deir al-Balah is known to have previously held at least some of the hostages, and the Israeli military has refrained from operations there because Hamas has threatened to kill the hostages if the Israeli military approaches where they are held. Representatives of the hostages’ families have expressed concern about the Israeli military’s decision.”
There are refugees from other parts of Gaza in the city. Now they will have to seek refuge elsewhere again.
Israel began fighting in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 that killed about 1,200 people” and took more than 250 hostages. The fighting and airstrikes, according to the Palestinian side, killed some 58,000 people in the Strip, Israel casts doubt on these figures and points out that it is unclear how many Hamas members were killed and how many civilians. Fifty hostages remain, most of them reportedly dead.
A mass demonstration was held in Tel Aviv on the evening of 19 July calling for an end to the fighting and for the release of the hostages. Participants appealed to US President Donald Trump to help achieve this.