Dozens of Palestinians lined up in Deir Al-Balah to get cooked rice from a charity kitchen.

Amer Zayed, 43, who was displaced from Bait Lahiya with a family of nine said the situation is very hard.

“It is a famine. There is no food and even water is not available. When it is available, it is not safe to drink. There is an overpopulation. What exacerbates the situation is the displacement of residents from North Gaza, they are moving to Central Gaza in Deir Al-Balah. The suffering gets worse when there are more displaced people.” Zayed said.

The UN said on Thursday that 23,000 people had evacuated over the past week.

Israel has called Gaza City a Hamas stronghold, alleging that a network of tunnels remains in use by Hamas after several previous large-scale raids on the area.

Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in Gaza city, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering and enduring famine.

The military in recent days ramped up strikes in neighborhoods on the city's outskirts.

The Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel and abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

AP production by Wafaa Shurafa