Context: Deir al-Balah had been an informal refuge for Palestinians escaping other parts of Gaza, and huge tent camps have sprung up in the city. The city also hosts warehouses for the U.N. as well as guesthouses for U.N. staff.

Israel's military on Tuesday responded to accusations by the World Health Organization (WHO) that its forces attacked the UN agency's facilities in central Gaza and detained staff members. The military said soldiers came under fire in the city of Deir al-Balah on Monday and returned fire in the direction the shots originated.

More than two dozen Western countries called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza on Monday, saying that suffering there had "reached new depths" as Israel's military expanded