This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact The Epoch Times Reprints.
Israeli tanks entered the Gazan city of Deir Al-Balah for the first time on July 21 after the Israel Defense Forces stated that it was extending its operations in the territory.
On July 20, the IDF’s Arabic language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, issued an evacuation warning to Deir Al-Balah residents in the center of the strip.
“The Israel Defense Forces continue to operate with great force to destroy enemy capabilities and terrorist infrastructure in the area, expanding its activities into a region it has not operated in before,” Adraee wrote on X. “For your safety, evacuate the area immediately and move south toward Al-Mawasi.”
The military also dropped leaflets ordering people in several districts in southwest Deir Al-Balah to leave their homes and head further south.
The announcement of the extension of operations into the city prompted concern from the families of Israeli hostages.
“Can anyone promise us that this decision will not come at the cost of the loss of our loved ones?” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement reported by The Times of Israel.
“We expect the prime minister, the defense minister, and senior IDF officials to urgently explain to Israeli citizens and the families what the plan for the fighting is, and how exactly it protects the hostages who are still in Gaza.”
A large rally calling for an agreement to bring home the hostages and end the fighting took place in Tel Aviv over the weekend.
At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month.
On July 20, at least 67 people were killed by Israeli fire as they waited for U.N. aid trucks to enter Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) confirmed the incident on X, writing that a 25-truck convoy carrying food assistance had crossed the Zikim border point.
“As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire,” the WFP stated. “We are deeply concerned and saddened by this tragic incident resulting in the loss of countless lives. Many more suffered life-threatening injuries. These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation.”
The IDF stated that its troops had fired warning shots toward a crowd of thousands of people in northern Gaza to remove “an immediate threat.”
It stated that initial findings suggested that casualty figures had been inflated and that it “certainly does not intentionally target humanitarian aid trucks.”
Washington Calls on Hamas to Accept Deal
Israel’s expansion of its operations comes as the Trump administration’s special envoy for hostage affairs said that the terrorist group Hamas should “take the deal” laid out by Israel to move closer to a peace agreement.
During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on July 20, special envoy Adam Boehler said Hamas should accept the current Israeli proposal, which involves the terrorist group releasing some of the remaining hostages it took during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in order to move forward.
“I would say Israel at this point is bending over backward,” he said. “They’re redrawing maps. At this point, what you do is you say, ‘Look, we’re going to take this deal. We’re going to let at least 10 hostages go. We have got two dead Americans there. ... We need to get those Americans out. We need to get the other hostages.”
Two days earlier, Abu Ubaida, spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas, said in a televised speech that the group wants a truce in Gaza but that Israel has refused the group’s offers to release the hostages.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” Ubaida said.
Israel and Hamas are currently holding indirect talks in Doha, Qatar, with the aim of achieving a 60-day truce and hostage deal.
Hamas says any deal must lead to the end of the war. Netanyahu has said the war will only end once the terrorist group is disarmed and its leaders are expelled from Gaza.
Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.
