The United Nations says it has had to temporarily suspend its aid operation in the Gaza Strip because of Israeli military evacuation orders in the centre of the Palestinian territory.

A senior official told the BBC that its humanitarian staff had been unable to operate on Monday because of safety concerns.

Israeli evacuation orders covering the central town of Deir al-Balah, where the UN has its main command centre, had forced staff to relocate quickly and leave equipment behind, they said.

However, the official stressed that UN agencies would not be leaving Gaza and were now trying to find somewhere to operate safely.

The UN is the primary provider and distributor of humanitarian aid inside the territory, which has been devastated by 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 40,430 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, and about 1.9 million people have been displaced.