Israeli forces bombard central Gaza in apparent move toward expanding ground offensive

Israeli forces bombarded Palestinian refugee camps in central Gaza on Tuesday, residents said, in apparent preparation to expand their ground offensive into a third section of the besieged territory.

Israeli forces bombarded Palestinian refugee camps in central Gaza and issued orders telling residents to evacuate Tuesday, signs that the military plans to expand its ground offensive into another part of the besieged territory. Gaza's main telecom provider, Paltel, announced another "complete interruption" of services.

A potential new battle zone threatens new destruction in a war that Israel's military has said will last for "many months" as it vows to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its Oct. 7 attack. Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, driving Palestinians into ever-smaller areas in search of refuge.

Despite international pressure for a cease-fire and U.S. calls for fewer civilian casualties, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the fight "isn't close to finished."

Israel's offensive is one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than 20,900 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and children, have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, whose count doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants. On Tuesday afternoon, it said 240 people had been killed over the past 24 hours.

"We are gravely concerned about the continued bombardment of Middle Gaza by Israeli forces, which has claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve," the U.N. human rights office said, noting that Israel had ordered some residents to move to the area.

In response to what it has long considered disproportionate criticism from the U.N., Israel said it would no longer grant automatic visas to U.N. employees and accused the world body of being "complicit partners" in Hamas' tactics. Government spokesman Eylon Levy said that Israel would consider visa requests case by case. That could further limit aid efforts in Gaza.

Residents of central Gaza described a night of shelling and airstrikes shaking the Nuseirat, Maghazi and Bureij camps. The camps are built-up towns housing Palestinians driven from their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war, along with their descendants. The camps are now crowded with people who fled the north.