CAIRO/GAZA - The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has escalated further, with Israel issuing new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late Sunday. The orders have forced more families to flee, as Israel targets militant groups in the area, including Hamas.

The Deir Al-Balah municipality reported that 250,000 people have been displaced due to these recent evacuation orders. This follows a series of similar orders across Gaza, which have sparked widespread concern among Palestinians, the United Nations, and relief agencies. The reduction of humanitarian zones and the absence of safe areas have intensified the outcry.

On Monday, Israeli military strikes resulted in the deaths of at least seven Palestinians, according to medical sources. Among the victims, two were killed in Deir Al-Balah, where about a million people were sheltering, two at a school in the Al-Nuseirat camp, and three in Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

The evacuation orders have also significantly impacted Al-Aqsa Hospital, the main medical facility in Deir Al-Balah. Many families and patients have been forced to leave the hospital, which has been a refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that an explosion near the hospital caused panic, leading the organization to consider suspending wound care services temporarily.

MSF stated, "Al Aqsa has been operating well beyond capacity for weeks due to the lack of alternatives for patients. All warring parties must respect the hospital, as well as patients' access to medical care." Currently, only 100 patients remain in the hospital, with seven in the intensive care unit, according to Gaza's health ministry.

As the conflict continues, diplomatic efforts to broker peace have stalled. Mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States have been unable to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas. Talks in Cairo on Sunday ended without agreement, with both sides trading blame for the failure to reach a compromise.

A senior U.S. official described the talks as "constructive" but noted that an agreement remained elusive. Hamas official Osama Hamdan accused Israel of introducing new conditions during the negotiations and dismissed U.S. claims of an imminent ceasefire as false.

The conflict has taken a heavy toll, with Gaza's health ministry reporting over 40,000 Palestinian deaths. The densely populated enclave has been devastated, with most of its 2.3 million residents displaced multiple times and facing severe shortages of food and medicine.

The war began following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and resulted in more than 250 hostages being taken, according to Israeli figures.

In a related development, tensions have also flared along the Israel-Lebanon border, with Israel launching its largest attack on Hezbollah since their 2006 war. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported destroying thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon in response to what they described as a pre-emptive strike to prevent a large-scale attack by the Iran-backed group.

Hezbollah, in turn, claimed to have fired 320 rockets and drones at Israel in retaliation for the assassination of a senior commander. The IDF confirmed that one Israeli Navy soldier was killed during the exchanges.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for an end to the "Israeli aggression" and emphasized the need for international efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, expressed hope that the latest violence would not lead to a regional war.

With no end in sight to the conflict, the humanitarian crisis continues to worsen, and diplomatic channels remain at an impasse.