DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — At least 85 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach food at locations across Gaza on Sunday, the territory’s Health Ministry said, on the deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in more than 21 months of war.

There was new alarm as Israel’s military issued evacuation orders for areas of central Gaza, one of the few areas where it has rarely operated with ground troops and many international organizations trying to distribute aid are stationed.

One aid group said several groups’ offices were told to evacuate immediately.

The largest death toll was in devastated northern Gaza, where living conditions are dire.

At least 79 Palestinians were killed while trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel, said Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry’s records department. The U.N. World Food Program said 25 trucks with aid had entered for “starving communities” when it encountered massive crowds that came under gunfire.

A U.N. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israeli forces opened fire toward the crowds that tried to take food from the convoy. Footage taken by the U.N. and shared with The Associated Press showed Palestinians running as the sound of automatic gunfire could be heard.

“Suddenly, tanks surrounded us and trapped us as gunshots and strikes rained down. We were trapped for around two hours,” said Ehab Al-Zei, who had been waiting for flour. “I will never go back again. Let us die of hunger, it’s better.”

Nafiz Al-Najjar, who was injured, said tanks and drones targeted people “randomly,” and he saw his cousin and others shot dead.

Israel’s military said soldiers had shot at a gathering of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza who posed a threat, and it was aware of some casualties. But it said the numbers reported by officials in Gaza were far higher than its initial investigation found.

The military accused Hamas militants of endangering civilians. More than 150 people were wounded overall, with some in critical condition, hospitals said.

Separately, seven Palestinians were killed while sheltering in tents in Khan Younis in the south, including a 5-year-old boy, according to the Kuwait Specialized Field Hospital, which received the casualties.

The new evacuation orders cut access between the central city of Deir al-Balah and Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow territory. The military also reiterated evacuation orders for northern Gaza.

The United Nations has been in contact with Israeli authorities to clarify whether U.N. facilities in the southwestern part of Deir al-Balah are included in the evacuation order, according to a different U.N. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official said that in previous instances, U.N. facilities were spared from evacuation orders.

The latest order covers an area stretching from an evacuated area all the way to the Mediterranean coast and will severely hamper movement for aid groups and civilians in Gaza.

Hamas triggered the war when militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Fifty remain in Gaza, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 58,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many militants have been killed but says more than half of the dead have been women and children.

Pope Leo XIV renewed his call Sunday for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, asking the international community to respect international laws and the obligation to protect civilians.

“I once again call for an immediate end to the barbarity of this war and for a peaceful resolution to the conflict,” the pontiff said at the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer from his summer retreat in Castel Gandolfo, Italy.