Israel has cut off internet and communications in the besieged Gaza Strip as it ramped up its bombardment on Friday, severing contact between the 2.3 million population and creating a near-blackout of information in the conflict-torn country.

The Israeli military said that it was “expanding” ground operations in the territory and was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza in its objectives to “crush” the Hamas militant group responsible for an unprecedented attack on October 7 that killed more than 1,400 people in Israel.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) further said that says its warplanes hit 150 underground targets overnight, and killed head of Hamas’ aerial operations Asem Abu Rakaba. Nearly 100 Israeli fighters bombarded the Gaza Strip overnight.

As the bombardment continued, the Palestinian telecom provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused “complete disruption” of internet, cellular and landline services. The cutoff meant that casualties from strikes and details of ground incursions could not immediately be known.

Notably, Gaza was already plunged into darkness after most of the electricity was cut off as part of Israel’s “complete siege”, throwing Palestinians were thrown into isolation, huddling in homes and shelters with diminishing food and water supplies.

Dire situation in Gaza

The Hamas media center reported heavy nighttime clashes with Israeli forces at several places, including what it said was an Israeli incursion east of the refugee camp of Bureij in the central Gaza Strip. Asked about the report, the Israeli military reiterated early Saturday that it had been carrying out targeted raids and expanding strikes with the aim of “preparing the ground for future stages of the operation.”

UN humanitarian coordinator for occupied territories Lynn Hastings said that hospitals and aid operations would be unable to operate without phone lines and internet. International groups like the Red Crescent and Amnesty International said that they lost contact with their teams and colleagues and residents were unable to call ambulances.

The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm, saying the world “is losing a window into the reality” of the conflict. It warned that the information vacuum “can be filled with deadly propaganda, disinformation and misinformation.

Meanwhile, the Hamas media center reported heavy nighttime clashes with Israeli forces, including tanks, at several places by the border fence. The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has soared past 7,300, more than 60% of them minors and women, according to the territory’s Health Ministry. The overall number of deaths far exceeds the combined toll of all four previous Israel-Hamas wars, estimated at around 4,000.

A blockade on Gaza has resulted in dwindling supplies, and the UN warned that its aid operation helping hundreds of thousands of people was “crumbling” amid near-depleted fuel. Israel has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border ahead of an expected ground offensive, which is likely to have worsening humanitarian consequences.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told foreign reporters that Israel expects a long and difficult ground offensive into Gaza soon.

It “will take a long time” to dismantle Hamas’ vast network of tunnels, he said, adding that he expected a lengthy phase of lower-intensity fighting as Israel destroys “pockets of resistance.

Humanitarian aid in Gaza

Some convoys carrying desperately-needed humanitarian supplies have been allowed to enter, although aid workers said that they are not enough to satisfy the dire situation in the Gaza Strip overwhelmed with wounded and running quickly out of supplies.

Gaza hospitals have been scrounging for fuel to run emergency generators that power incubators and other life-saving equipment. However, Gallant said that Hamas would confiscate any fuel that enters.

More than 1.4 million people have fled their homes, nearly half crowding into UN schools and shelters. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari accused Hamas of using its population as a “human shield”. 

“We will not be able to allow terror activity against Israel from hospitals, and we will have to, together with the rest of the world, confront this red flag,” said Hagari.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Gallant on Friday and “underscored the importance of protecting civilians during the Israel Defense Forces’ operations and focusing on the urgency of humanitarian aid delivery for civilians in Gaza.” The Pentagon said Austin also brought up “the need for Hamas to release all of the hostages.”

The conflict has threatened to ignite a wider war across the region. Arab nations — including US allies and ones that have reached peace deals or normalized ties with Israel — have raised increasing alarm over a potential ground invasion, likely to bring even higher casualties amid urban fighting.

(with agency inputs)

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