Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Close After Funding Cut, in Blow to Local Media

2 days ago

‘Freedom Week’: California Gun Owners Rush to Buy Ammo After Court Ruling

2 days ago

Wall Street Selloff Sparked by Trump Tariffs, Amazon Results, Weak Payrolls

2 days ago

US Construction Spending Extends Decline in June

2 days ago

Global Shares in Red After US Jobs Data, Trump’s Tariff Salvo

2 days ago

Construction of $200M Trump Ballroom at the White House to Begin in September

3 days ago

US Senate Committee Backs $1 Billion for Ukraine in Pentagon Spending Bill

3 days ago

Trump Says Mexico Trade Deal Extended for 90 Days

3 days ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Susan Wittrup Responds to $162,000 Payout

4 days ago
Israeli Forces Push Deeper into Gaza City in Pursuit of Militants. Thousands Flee Again
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
July 8, 2024

As Israeli forces penetrate deeper into Gaza City, thousands of Palestinians are forced to flee, marking another wave of displacement in the ongoing conflict. (AP/Leo Correa)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli forces advanced deeper into the Gaza Strip’s largest city in pursuit of militants who had regrouped there, sending thousands of Palestinians fleeing on Monday from an area ravaged in the early weeks of the nine-month-long war.

The incursion into Gaza City comes as Israel and Hamas drew closer to bridging gaps in indirect talks over a cease-fire and hostage release.

Israeli troops were again battling militants in areas that the army said had been largely cleared months ago in northern Gaza. The military ordered evacuations ahead of the raids, but Palestinians say nowhere feels safe. Most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are packed into sweltering tent camps.

Israel ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza in the opening weeks of the war and has prevented most people from returning. But hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain, living in the shells of homes or shelters.

“We fled in the darkness amid heavy strikes,” said Sayeda Abdel-Baki, a mother of three who had sheltered with relatives in the Daraj neighborhood. “This is my fifth displacement.”

Residents reported artillery and tank fire, as well as airstrikes. Gaza’s Health Ministry, with limited access to the north, did not immediately report casualties.

Israel Issues Additional Evacuation Orders

Israel issued additional evacuation orders Monday for areas in other neighborhoods of central Gaza City. The military said it had intelligence showing that militants from Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group were in the area, and called on residents to head south to the city of Deir al-Balah.

Israel accuses Hamas and other militants of hiding among civilians. In Shijaiyah, a Gaza City neighborhood that has seen weeks of fighting, the military said troops had raided and destroyed schools and a clinic that had been converted into militant compounds.

The war has decimated large swaths of urban landscape and sparked a humanitarian catastrophe.

Obstacles to a Deal

Israel and Hamas appear to be the closest they have been in months to agreeing to a cease-fire deal that would pause the fighting in exchange for the release of dozens of hostages captured by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.

CIA Director William Burns returned to the region on Monday for talks in Cairo, according to Egypt’s state-run Qahera TV, which is close to the country’s security services. An Israeli delegation was also heading to the Egyptian capital, Israeli media reported.

But obstacles remain, even after Hamas agreed to relent on its key demand that Israel commit to ending the war as part of any agreement. A key part of that shift, officials told The Associated Press, is the level of destruction caused by Israel’s rolling offensive.

Hamas still wants mediators to “guarantee” that negotiations conclude with a permanent cease-fire, according to two officials with knowledge of the talks. The current draft says the mediators — the United States, Qatar and Egypt — “will do their best” to ensure that negotiations lead to an agreement to wind down the war.

Israel has rejected any deal that would force it to end the war with Hamas still intact — a condition Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Sunday.

The officials said there’s also an impasse around whether Hamas should be allowed to choose the high-profile prisoners held by Israel that it wants released in exchange for the hostages. Some prisoners were convicted of killing Israelis, and Israel does not want Hamas to determine who is released. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media.

Bombing Keeps Responders from Bodies

Inside Gaza, residents saw no end to their suffering.

Maha Mahfouz fled her home with her two children and many neighbors in Gaza City’s Zaytoun neighborhood. She said their area was not included in the latest evacuation orders but “we are panicked because the bombing and gunfire are very close to us.”

Fadel Naeem, the director of the Al-Ahli hospital, said patients fled the facility in panic even though there was no evacuation order for the area around it. He said those in critical condition had been evacuated to other hospitals in northern Gaza.

Marwan al-Sultan, director of the Indonesian Hospital, said it received 80 patients and wounded people from Al-Ahli who were packed into “every corner.”

“Many cases require urgent surgeries. Many cases suffer from direct shots in the head and require intensive care. Fuel and medical supplies are dwindling,” he said in a text message. He said the hospital on Monday also received 16 bodies of people killed in the Israeli incursion, half of them women and children.

Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for the Civil Defense first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said the neighborhoods of Tufah, Daraj and Shijaiyah had become inaccessible because of Israeli bombing.

In a voice message, he said the military shelled houses in the Jaffa area of Gaza City and first responders “saw people lying on the ground and were not able to retrieve them because of the bombing.”

The war has killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

Hamas’ cross-border raid on Oct. 7 killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities. The militants took roughly 250 people hostage. About 120 are still in captivity, with about a third said to be dead.

Magdy reported from Cairo.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DON'T MISS

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

DON'T MISS

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

DON'T MISS

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

DON'T MISS

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

DON'T MISS

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

DON'T MISS

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

DON'T MISS

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

DON'T MISS

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

DON'T MISS

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

UP NEXT

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

UP NEXT

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

UP NEXT

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

UP NEXT

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

UP NEXT

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

UP NEXT

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

UP NEXT

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

UP NEXT

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

UP NEXT

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

UP NEXT

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

6 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

6 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

6 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

6 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

6 hours ago

This Test Can See a Heart Attack in Your Future

7 hours ago

‘South Park’ Skewers a New Kind of Sanctimony and Trump

7 hours ago

India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say

1 day ago

The US Said It Had No Choice but to Deport Them to a Third Country. Then It Sent Them Home

1 day ago

Trump Reaffirms Support for Morocco’s Sovereignty Over Western Sahara

1 day ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

DUBAI — The commander-in-chief of Iran’s military, Amir Hatami, said on Sunday that threats from Israel persist, according to state me...

5 hours ago

Iranian Army commander-in-chief Amir Hatami attends a meeting in the Iranian Army's War Command Room at an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on June 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Iran’s Army Chief Says Israeli Threats Remain, State Media Say

Protesters walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Palestine Action Group's March for Humanity in Sydney, Australia, August 3, 2025. AAP/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
5 hours ago

Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian March Over Sydney Harbour Bridge

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives at a press conference to make an announcement on recognizing Palestinian statehood, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, July 30, 2025. (Reuters File)
5 hours ago

Trump, Carney to Speak in Coming Days, Canadian Official Says

A Union Pacific rail car is parked at a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) train yard in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

Rail Customers Urge Regulators to Block Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern Deal, FT Reports

World Aquatics Championships - Women 4x100m Medley Relay Final - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - August 3, 2025 Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske of the U.S. celebrate after winning the final and making a new world record REUTERS/Edgar Su
6 hours ago

United States Set World Record in Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay

A view shows Alabama Fertility, an IVF clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S., February, 23, 2024. (Reuters File)
6 hours ago

White House Backs Away From IVF Coverage Mandate Despite Trump’s Campaign Pledge, Washington Post Reports

6 hours ago

Six More Die of Hunger in Gaza, Israel Says UN Trucks Make Fuel Delivery

The Gifford Fire has scorched nearly 40,000 acres in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties as of Sunday, August 3, 2025, prompting multiple evacuation orders and the closure of Highway 166 as crews work to contain the fast-moving wildfire. (CalFire)
6 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 40,000 Acres. Evacuation Orders Expanded in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo Counties

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend