Gaza under blackout as Israel conducts ground offensive against Hamas

On Saturday, Israel increased its air and ground operations and hinted that its long-promised ground onslaught against the Hamas militants in control of the Palestinian enclave had started, cutting off Gaza from the outside world for the most part. Without going into further detail, Israel stated on Saturday morning that its troops that were deployed in on Friday night were still there. Prior to this, the nation had only conducted quick trips into Gaza during a three-week bombing aimed at eliminating Hamas militants, who it claimed had murdered 1,400 Israelis on October 7, the majority of them civilians. “The forces are still in the field and continuing the war,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a news briefing on Saturday morning. By Saturday morning, there was a nearly total shutdown of all communication in Gaza, with phone and internet services unavailable for over twelve hours. Israel, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, had severed the connection. In addition, Hagari stated that Israel will permit trucks delivering food, water, and medication to reach Gaza on Saturday, suggesting that bombardment may cease, at least near the border with Egypt, where some relief has begun to arrive. Aid organisations have reported that a humanitarian crisis is developing in Gaza, where the Israeli siege is totalizing, affecting 2.3 million people. In the Hamas-run enclave, health officials report that since Israel started bombing, over 7,000 Palestinians have died. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organisation (WHO), claimed that the blackout was “making it impossible” for ambulances to get to the injured in Gaza. “Evacuation of patients is not possible under such circumstances, nor to find safe shelter,” he said on X. He said that neither the Red Crescent nor the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) could get in touch with their personnel or facilities. The primary hospital in the enclave, Al Shifa, in Gaza City, is in the north, and areas surrounding it have been damaged by Israeli air attacks, according to Al Jazeera, which aired live satellite TV images overnight depicting regular explosions in Gaza. The Israeli military charged Hamas on Friday with utilising the hospital as a cover for its tunnels and command centres; the organisation refuted the accusations. After a night of intense Israeli shelling, an Al Jazeera correspondent, reporting live on Saturday morning, called the disruption of phone and internet service “catastrophic” for rescue attempts. The journalist stated that Palestinians were driving the wounded and dead to hospitals as they were unable to contact medical services. Rescue crews were not receiving emergency calls, according to the government administered by Hamas. On Saturday, a spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry told Al Jazeera that there had been 7,703 deaths and 19,734 injuries in Gaza. Israel declared that it did not have any information about soldier casualties. Following the Hamas attack on October 7, several of the relatives of those who were taken prisoner in Israel wanted an immediate meeting with the Israeli leadership. “None of the war cabinet bothered to meet with the families of the hostages to explain one thing - whether the ground operation endangers the well-being of the 229 hostages in Gaza,” the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum headquarters said. Yoav Gallant, the minister of defence, announced that he would meet with the hostages’ relatives on Sunday. Children, the elderly, and numerous individuals with foreign passports are among the hostages. Thus far, four ladies have been let free. Yosi Shnaider, a different relative of the hostages, had previously stated that Israel’s military action was the sole means of rescuing them. He declared, “We are at a loss for time.” Growing rumours have suggested that a deal to free more hostages, mediated by Qatar, is imminent; nevertheless, Israeli military spokesman Hagari claimed that Hamas was cynically controlling the situation. “When the information (on any hostage release) is in our hands, we will give it,” he told the news briefing. (With agency inputs)