The Israeli army on Monday ordered the withdrawal of troops from parts of the Gaza Strip it had designated as humanitarian zones.
The army said it would launch operations against Hamas fighters hiding out in the area and firing rockets into Israel.
This area includes the eastern part of the Mwassi humanitarian area in the southern Gaza Strip.
During heavy Israeli air and ground bombardment, many Palestinians have been forced to leave their homes multiple times in search of safety.
Israel said earlier this month that it estimated there were at least 1.8 million Palestinians in the humanitarian zone, which stretches about 8.6 miles along the Mediterranean Sea.
Much of the area is now covered by tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, with people living amid mountains of garbage and streams polluted by sewage, according to the United Nations and humanitarian groups.
The announcement came amid delicate negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, with U.S. and Israeli officials expressing hope that an agreement is closer than ever.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it would send a negotiating team to continue the talks on Thursday, while Egypt, Qatar and the United States continue to press Israel and Hamas for a phased ceasefire agreement that would stop fighting and release hostages.
Netanyahu leaves on Monday morning for a long-awaited visit to the United States, where he is due to meet with President Joe Biden, who announced on Sunday that he will not seek re-election, and address Congress.
Regardless of who the next US president is, “our enemies need to know that Israel and the United States will coexist side by side tomorrow and always,” Netanyahu said.
He thanked Biden for more than 40 years of friendship and said he asked for further assistance on specific issues.
More than 38,900 people have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to the Gaza Strip Health Ministry, but the figure does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The war began on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, leaving 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and about 250 taken hostage.
Israeli authorities say about 120 people remain in custody, about a third of whom are believed to have died.
The Israeli army said on Monday it was continuing operations in central and southern Gaza.
At least 15 people, including women and children, were killed in Gaza in Israeli airstrikes on Sunday, according to a death toll from hospital officials and an Associated Press reporter.
The discovery of poliovirus has made an already precarious humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip even worse, as water and sanitation services for the strip’s 2.3 million residents, many of whom are displaced, deteriorate. Traces of the virus have been found in sewage samples from the Gaza Strip.
The World Health Organization says no one has been treated for symptoms of the disease.
The Israeli army said its soldiers will be vaccinated and that it will work with organizations to provide vaccines for Palestinians.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed to wipe out Hamas’ military and governance and ensure the return of the remaining hostages.
Families of the hostages and thousands of Israelis have been holding weekly demonstrations to call on the prime minister to reach a ceasefire that would allow their loved ones to return home.
