Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and 24 of her counterparts abroad have signed a joint statement saying "the war in Gaza must end now," while calling on Israel to stop displacing Palestinians.

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.

Israel Defense Forces pushed into a central Gaza city on Monday for the first time since the war with Hamas began.

Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah for the first time on Monday, an area where Israeli sources said the military believes some of the remaining hostages may be held.

Israel warned it would move for the first time into a town in the heart of the Gaza Strip that it had earlier skirted for fear of harming hostages, as it accused Hamas of stalling at US-brokered ceasefire talks and the war’s toll on Palestinian civilians spiraled.