Amid the continued deployment of ground troops to the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army renewed its appeal to civilians in northern Gaza to “temporarily” head south. According to Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant, operations in Gaza will continue “until a new order” – a “new phase of the war” has begun.
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“The earth in Gaza shook,” Galant said in a statement issued by his office. “We attack above ground and underground, we attack terrorists of all categories and in all locations.” And further: “As for other areas, we are preparing to defend Israeli citizens and guarantee their safety. We do this in the North, in the Center and everywhere.” Galant’s comments come after a meeting with senior security officials from the army and intelligence services.
Infantry and tanks are still in the Gaza Strip “and operating deeper into Hamas-controlled territory than in previous limited operations,” the military said. There are also reports of ongoing airstrikes – as well as artillery fire and Israeli navy fire. It remains to be seen whether this will mark the beginning of the great offensive that has been expected for days.
According to Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Israel “has now launched a ground war against Gaza.” This means that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which aid organizations have already described as catastrophic, will continue to worsen, Safadi said.
Cell phone and internet failed
Observers speak of a confusing situation – the background to this situation is also a large-scale disruption of mobile communications and the Internet in the Gaza Strip.
Several humanitarian organizations reported that they had lost contact with their staff. The situation in the combat zone is also extremely dangerous for journalists who risk their lives to report from there. The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said more than 29 media workers have been killed since the Hamas terrorist attack three weeks ago. The organization also warned that a failure in the communications network could also prevent new messages from spreading from there.
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