07/21/2025July 21, 2025
Israel launches ground and air assault on Deir al-Balah in central Gaza
The Israeli army expanded its operations, including a ground offensive, on Monday in the city of Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip.
It is the first time Israel has launched a ground offensive in Deir al-Balah in the 21 months since it began its attacks in the region in the wake of the October 7, 2023 attacks.
On Sunday, the Israeli military warned of imminent action against fighters in the area. An army spokesman called on residents to leave the area in a post in Arabic on X.
The Israeli military continues “to operate with intensity to eliminate terrorists and to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the area and is expanding its activities into new areas,” the army said in a statement. “For your safety, immediately evacuate southward toward Al-Mawasi.”
Situated in the southwest of the embattled area, Al-Mawasi was designated by Israel as a “humanitarian zone” earlier in the war. However, Israel has since attacked there multiple times, with its military saying it was targeting Hamas facilities.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned the mass displacement order had dealt “yet another devastating blow” to the Gaza Strip.
Initial estimates indicated that between 50,000 and 80,000 people were in the area when Sunday’s order was given, including some30,000 people sheltering in 57 displacement sites, OCHA said in a statement.
The post Middle East: Israel launches Deir al-Balah ground offensive appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
