JERUSALEM — Israeli forces were expanding their offensive in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, taking control of more territory and issuing new evacuation orders for residents who had only recently returned to their homes.

The Israeli military renewed its offensive in Gaza this past week after talks to extend a fragile, temporary ceasefire that went into effect in mid-January reached an impasse.

Amid the escalation, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Sunday that the death toll in the enclave since the war started had surpassed 50,000 people — including 39 people killed in Israeli bombardments over the past day.

On Sunday, Israel said its operations had moved into additional areas in the north and south of the enclave.

Israel said its troops had begun operating in Beit Hanoun, in northern Gaza, to expand a buffer zone. The military also said that it had carried out more airstrikes against Hamas targets and infrastructure and that it was allowing people to evacuate.

The military also separately issued an evacuation order for the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of the southern city of Rafah.

The Rafah municipality said in a statement that thousands of families were being forced to flee on foot under bombardment during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Hamas announced that Israel had killed a senior member of its political bureau, Salah al-Bardawil, overnight. The group said that al-Bardawil had been killed in Muwasi, an area in southern Gaza that the Israeli military had designated as a humanitarian zone and to which it directed residents of Tal al-Sultan on Sunday.

After noon Sunday, the military said that its troops had completely encircled Tal al-Sultan, had eliminated several fighters and had raided a site that it said had been used as a Hamas command and control center.

Neither claim could be independently verified.

Late Sunday, the Israeli military said in a statement that it struck “a key terrorist” in Hamas who it said was operating inside the Nasser Hospital compound in southern Gaza. The military said it used “precise munitions in order to mitigate harm” to the surrounding area.

Health authorities in Gaza said in a statement that Israeli forces had targeted the surgical department in the medical complex. The Gaza Health Ministry condemned the direct targeting of the hospital, which it said resulted in the death of two patients there and the injury of several others.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.