Israel expands ground operations against Hamas, bombardments cut off Gaza’s internet

Israel is expanding its ground operation in Gaza with infantry and armoured vehicles backed by "massive" strikes from the air and sea, a military spokesperson said Saturday.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said "forces are still on the ground and are continuing the war."

Previously, troops had conducted brief nightly ground incursions before returning to Israel.

Earlier Saturday, the military had released videos showing columns of armoured vehicles moving slowly in open sandy areas of Gaza, the first visual confirmation of ground troops, and said warplanes bombed dozens of Hamas tunnels and underground bunkers.

The move is a further escalation in Israel's campaign to crush the territory's ruling militant group Hamas after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago — a new sign that Israel is moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza.

Late Friday, Hagari said ground forces were "expanding their activity" in Gaza and "acting with great force … to achieve the objectives of the war" as Israel amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border.

Overnight into Saturday, warplanes struck 150 tunnels and underground bunkers in northern Gaza, the military said. Hamas's extensive underground installations, many of them located under Gaza City in the north of the territory, are seen as key targets of the offensive.

As part of the stepped-up bombardment, Israel also knocked out communications and created a near-blackout of information, largely cutting off the 2.3 million people in besieged Gaza from contact with the outside world.

Already plunged into darkness after most electricity was cut off weeks ago, Palestinians were thrown into isolation, huddling in homes and shelters with food and water supplies running out. Attempts to reach Gaza residents by phone were largely unsuccessful early Saturday.

With no electricity, no communications and no water, many of those trapped in Gaza had little choice but to wait in their homes or seek the relative safety of schools and hospitals even as Israel expanded its bombing early Saturday.

The Palestinian telecom provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused "complete disruption" of internet, cellular and landline services. Relatives outside Gaza panicked after their messaging chats with families inside suddenly went dead and calls stopped going through.

Wafaa Abdul Rahman, director of a feminist organization based in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said she hadn't heard for hours from family in central Gaza.

"We've been seeing these horrible things and massacres when it's live on TV, so now what will happen when there's a total blackout?" she said, referring to scenes of families that have been crushed in homes by airstrikes over the past weeks.

Rescuers forced to chase sound of explosions

Lynn Hastings, UN humanitarian co-ordinator for the occupied territories, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that without phone lines and internet, hospitals and aid operations would be unable to operate. The Red Crescent said it could not contact medical teams and residents could no longer call ambulances, meaning rescuers would have to chase the sound of explosions to find the wounded. International aid groups said they were only able to reach a few staffers using satellite phones.

WATCH | Communications blackout worsens health-care situation in Gaza:

Health-care situation in Gaza 'unbearable'

15 hours ago

Duration 5:19

Featured VideoCanadian physician Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan says she heard from doctors in Gaza regularly before communication was cut off. She shared a message she received from one of her nursing colleagues on the ground, who wrote that 'death did not have mercy on anyone, young or old.'

Israel says its strikes target Hamas fighters and infrastructure and that the militants operate from among civilians, putting them in danger.

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has soared past 7,300 with more than 60 per cent of them minors and women, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry that tracks the toll. They released a detailed list of names and ID numbers on Thursday to counter suggestions figures were being inflated.

A blockade on Gaza has meant dwindling supplies, and the UN warned that its aid operation helping hundreds of thousands of people was "crumbling" amid near-depleted fuel. But according to the military, Israel is planning on allowing trucks carrying food, water and medicine to enter Gaza on Saturday.

More than 1,400 people were slain in Israel during Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, according to the Israeli government, and at least 229 hostages were taken into Gaza. Among those killed were at least 310 soldiers, according to the military. Hamas militants have also fired thousands of rockets into Israel.

The overall number of deaths far exceeds the combined toll of all four previous Israel-Hamas wars, estimated at around 4,000.

The conflict has threatened to ignite a wider war across the region. Arab nations — including U.S. 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.