The heavy Israeli bombardment rocked the city of Gaza today, Tuesday, as thousands of fleeing Palestinians searched for shelter, and medical facilities were forced to close their doors in the latest assault on the northern sector.

The new Israeli ground attack in Gaza's largest city is the latest effort to combat Hamas militants who are regrouping in areas that the army previously claimed had been largely cleared.

Large parts of Gaza City and the surrounding urban areas have been leveled or left in ruins after nine months of fighting. A significant portion of the population fled earlier in the war, but hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in the north.

Hakim Abdul Bar, who fled the Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City to the homes of relatives in another part of the city, said, "The fighting has been intense." He added that Israeli warplanes and drones "bomb anything that moves," and that tanks have moved into central areas.

No immediate reports of casualties have emerged. Nepal Farshakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent, said that families whose relatives were injured or trapped were calling for ambulances, but first responders were unable to reach most affected areas due to Israeli operations, confirming, "It is a dangerous area."

The United Nations stated that after Israel called on Monday for the evacuation of the eastern and central parts of Gaza City, staff at two hospitals—the Ahli and the Friends of the Patients Society Hospital—rushed to transfer patients and shut down. Farshakh mentioned that the three medical points run by the Red Crescent in Gaza City were closed.

The Israeli army said on Tuesday that it had informed hospitals and other medical facilities in Gaza City that they did not need to evacuate. However, hospitals in Gaza frequently close their doors and transfer patients at the first sign of any potential Israeli military action out of fear of airstrikes.

In the past nine months, Israeli forces have occupied at least eight hospitals, resulting in the deaths of patients and medical workers along with massive destruction of facilities and equipment. Israel has claimed that Hamas uses hospitals for military purposes, although it has provided only limited evidence of this.

Only 13 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are operational, and these hospitals are operating only partially, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The Israeli campaign in Gaza, sparked by Hamas's attack on October 7, has killed or injured more than 5% of Gaza's 2.3 million population, according to the health ministry in the sector, and has displaced nearly the entire population from their homes. Many have been displaced multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are crammed into extremely hot camps.

Maha Mahfouz, a mother of two, said she escaped twice in the last 24 hours. Initially, she hurried from her home in Gaza City to a relative's house in another neighborhood. When things became dangerous, she fled on Monday night to the beach, a decades-old refugee camp turned urban area.

She described the massive destruction in the eastern and central parts of the city. She said, "Buildings have been destroyed. Roads have been destroyed. Everything has turned to rubble."

Israeli airstrikes on the central town of Deir al-Balah and nearby refugee camps on Tuesday killed at least 14 people, including four children and a woman, according to officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and Al-Awda Hospital, where the victims were taken. One airstrike hit a police station in an open market in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, killing four people and injuring twenty, half of whom were women and children. In the hospital, a small child cried and coughed while wiping his eyes as medics treated him on the crowded floor.

The Israeli army said it has intelligence showing that Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants are reorganizing in central Gaza City. Israel accuses Hamas and other militants of hiding among civilians. In Shujaiya, one of Gaza City's neighborhoods that has seen weeks of fighting, the army said it destroyed six kilometers (3 miles) of Hamas tunnels.

Hamas warned that the recent airstrikes in Gaza City could lead to the collapse of negotiations regarding a ceasefire and the release of hostages.

It appeared that Israel and Hamas have been narrowing gaps in recent days, mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar.

The office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said that CIA Director William Burns met with the president on Tuesday in Cairo to discuss negotiations. Israeli media reported that an Israeli delegation was heading to the Egyptian capital.

However, obstacles remain, even after Hamas agreed to back down from its main demand that Israel commit to ending the war as part of any agreement. Hamas still wants mediators to ensure that negotiations conclude with a permanent ceasefire, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

The current draft states that mediators "will do their utmost" to ensure that negotiations lead to an agreement to end the war. Israel has rejected any deal that would compel it to end the war with Hamas without changes. Hamas accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday of "putting more obstacles in the path of negotiations."

The Hamas cross-border raid on October 7 killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities. The militants took nearly 250 people hostage. Approximately 120 remain in captivity, with about a third reported dead.

The bombardment and Israeli attacks in Gaza have resulted in more than 38,200 dead and over 88,000 injured, according to the health ministry in the sector.