Israel orders civilians out of central Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — The Israeli military on Sunday issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip, warning of imminent action against Hamas militants in an area "where it has not operated before."

The military's Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a post on X that residents and displaced Palestinians sheltering in the Deir el-Balah area should evacuate immediately.

Israel was "expanding its activities" around Deir el-Balah, including "in an area where it has not operated before," Adraee said, telling Palestinians to "move south toward the al-Mawasi area" on the Mediterranean coast "for your safety."

Meanwhile a military statement said Israeli forces had stepped up ground operations in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, killing "dozens of terrorists" and dismantling "hundreds of terrorist infrastructure."

"Underground terror tunnels" in the area stretching 2.7 kilometers some 20 meters underground were located and dismantled, it said.

Most of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which is now in its 22nd month, with repeated Israeli evacuation calls covering large parts of the coastal territory.

On the ground, Gaza's civil defense agency told Agence France-Presse on Sunday that Israeli strikes overnight killed at least seven people in Gaza City and in parts of the territory's south.

Delegations from Israel and militant group Hamas have spent the last two weeks in indirect talks for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and the release of 10 living hostages.

Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.