By WAFAA SHURAFA, MELANIE LIDMAN and SAMY MAGDY

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli ground troops for the first time Monday pushed into areas of a central Gaza city where several aid groups are based, in what appeared to be the latest effort to carve up the Palestinian territory with military corridors.

Deir al-Balah is the only Gaza city that hasn’t seen major ground operations or suffered widespread devastation in 21 months of war, leading to speculation that Hamas holds large numbers of hostages there. The main group representing hostages’ families said it was “shocked and alarmed” by the incursion, which was confirmed by an Israeli military official, and demanded answers from Israeli leaders.

Israel says the seizure of territory in Gaza is aimed at pressuring Hamas to release hostages, but it is a major point of contention in ongoing ceasefire talks.

The U.N. food agency, meanwhile, accused Israeli forces of firing on a crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid over the weekend. Gaza’s Health Ministry called it one of the deadliest attacks on aid-seekers in the war that has driven the territory to the brink of famine.

In the latest sign of international frustration, the United Kingdom, France and 23 other Western-aligned countries issued a statement saying “the war in Gaza must end now.” They harshly criticized Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid and called for the release of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza.

Evacuation orders dropped at dawn

Tens of thousands of people have sought refuge in Deir al-Balah during repeated waves of mass displacement in Gaza.

Associated Press reporters heard explosions and saw smoke rising from parts of the city that were ordered evacuated on Sunday. The Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said it was the first time ground troops had operated in the area.

A man living in the evacuation zone, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said Israel dropped pamphlets at dawn ordering people to evacuate. Two hours later, tanks rolled into the area.

He said his 62-year-old father, who had spent the night elsewhere, fled from house to house as Israeli forces moved in and saw them flattening structures with bulldozers and tanks. Both men managed to leave the evacuation zone.

The military declined to say if it had ordered the evacuation of aid groups based in the city, saying only that it maintains continuous contact with them and facilitates their relocation when necessary.

Israel has taken over large areas of Gaza and split the territory with corridors stretching from the border to the sea as it seeks to pressure Hamas to release more hostages.

In response to the Deir al-Balah incursion, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum warned in its statement that “the people of Israel will not forgive anyone who knowingly endangered the hostages — both the living and the deceased. No one will be able to claim they didn’t know what was at stake.”

Hamas-led terrorists abducted 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and European Union.

Less than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.

Rare condemnation from U.N. food agency

The World Food Program, in a rare condemnation, said the crowd surrounding its convoy in northern Gaza on Sunday “came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire.” It said “countless lives” were lost. A photographer working with The Associated Press counted 51 bodies at two hospitals.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed. Israel’s military said it fired warning shots “to remove an immediate threat” and questioned the death toll reported by the Palestinians. It declined to comment on the WFP statement.

Hundreds of people have been killed while seeking food in recent weeks, both from U.N. convoys and separate aid sites run by an Israeli-backed group that has been mired in controversy.

The Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to more than 59,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians but the ministry says more than half of the dead are women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government, but the U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

Strikes across Gaza kill 18

Gaza health officials said at least 18 people, including three women and five children, were killed in Israeli strikes overnight and into Monday. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes. It blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates from populated areas.

At least three people were killed when crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid trucks were shot at in the area of Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, according to two hospitals that received the bodies.

Gaza’s Health Ministry meanwhile said Israeli forces detained Dr. Marwan al-Hams, acting director of the strip’s field hospitals and the ministry’s spokesman. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Israel again strikes rebel-held port in Yemen

The fighting in Gaza has triggered conflicts elsewhere in region, including between Israel and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have fired missiles and drones at Israel in what they say is in solidarity with Palestinians.

The Israeli military said it struck the Hodeidah port in Yemen early Monday. Israel has struck the port before, including two weeks ago, accusing the Houthis of using it to import arms from Iran.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the targets included areas of the port that Israel had destroyed in previous strikes. “The Houthis will pay heavy prices for launching missiles towards the state of Israel,” Katz said.

Magdy reported from Cairo and Lidman from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem and Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war