By Nidal al-Mughrabi CAIRO (Reuters) -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 hostages may be held.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The U.N. food agency accused Israel of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid, in what the territory’s Health Ministry said was one of the deadliest days for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war.

The central city is one of the few parts of Gaza so far spared a major ground operation during the Israel-Hamas war.