DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip >> Israel announced Sunday it will allow a limited amount of humanitarian aid into Gaza after a nearly three-month blockade, days after global experts on food security warned of famine.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a “starvation crisis” would jeopardize Israel’s new military offensive in Gaza, and his Cabinet approved a decision to allow a “basic” amount of food into the territory of over 2 million people.

It was not immediately clear when aid would enter Gaza, or how. The Israeli military body in charge of overseeing aid did not comment. Israel has been trying to impose a new aid system, despite objections by aid workers. Netanyahu said Israel would work to ensure that aid does not reach militants.

Israel imposed the blockade starting March 2, cutting off all food, medicine and other supplies to Gaza, while pressing Hamas to accept new ceasefire terms. Israel resumed the war days later, shattering a two-month truce.

Earlier on Sunday, Israel said it launched “extensive” new ground operations in its new offensive — the largest since the ceasefire. Airstrikes killed at least 103 people, including dozens of children, hospitals and medics said. The bombardment also forced northern Gaza’s main hospital to close as it reported direct strikes.Israel wants Hamas to agree to a temporary ceasefire that would free hostages from Gaza but not necessarily end the war. Hamas says it wants a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and a path to ending the war as part of any deal.

“When the Jews want a truce, Hamas refuses, and when Hamas wants a truce, the Jews refuse it. Both sides agree to exterminate the Palestinian people,” said Jabaliya resident Abu Mohammad Yassin, who was among those fleeing the new offensive on foot or in donkey carts. “For God’s sake, have mercy on us. We are tired of displacement.”

Israel’s military, which recently called up tens of thousands of reservists, said the ground operations are throughout the Palestinian territory’s north and south. Israel’s chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said that plans include “dissecting” the strip.

As of Sunday night, troops had not yet reached the center of major cities like Gaza City and Khan Younis as they did at the height of the initial ground offensive in the fall of 2023 and early 2024. There are also fewer forces in Gaza now than there have been at other times, according to experts, though the military said Sunday that five army divisions were involved in the offensive, amounting to tens of thousands of soldiers.

Airstrikes killed more than 48 people — including 18 children and 13 women — in and around the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which said it struggled to count the dead because of the condition of bodies.

In northern Gaza, a strike on a home in Jabaliya killed nine members of a family, according to the Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency services.

Israel’s military had no immediate comment. Its statement announcing the ground operations said preliminary strikes over the past week killed dozens of militants and struck more than 670 targets. Israel blames civilian casualties on Hamas because the militant group operates from civilian areas.

Talks in Qatar

Israel had said it would wait until the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East before launching its offensive, saying it was giving ceasefire efforts a chance. Trump didn’t visit Israel on his trip that ended Friday.

Netanyahu’s office said his negotiating team in Qatar was “working to realize every chance for a deal,” including one that would end fighting in exchange for the release of all remaining 58 hostages, Hamas’ exile from Gaza and the disarmament of the territory.

Hamas has refused to leave Gaza or disarm.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has said almost 3,000 people have been killed since the last ceasefire ended.

Frustration in Israel has been rising. A small but growing number of Israelis are refusing to show up for military service, even risking imprisonment. Other Israelis have been displaying photos of children killed in Gaza during weekly rallies demanding a deal to free all hostages and end the war.

The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.

Hospital cites Israeli siege

Health officials said fighting around the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza and an Israeli military “siege” prompted it to shut down. It was the main medical facility in the north after Israeli strikes last year forced the Kamal Adwan and Beit Hanoun hospitals to stop offering services.

“There is direct targeting on the hospital, including the intensive care unit,” Indonesian Hospital director Dr. Marwan al-Sultan said in a statement, adding that no one could reach the facility that had about 30 patients and 15 medical staff inside.

Israel’s military said that troops were operating against militant infrastructure sites in northern Gaza, including the area “directly adjacent” to the hospital.

Israel has repeatedly targeted hospitals, accusing Hamas of being active in and around the facilities. Human rights groups and U.N.-backed experts have accused Israel of systematically destroying Gaza’s health care system.

This report includes information from the New York Times.