The Israeli army continues operations in the Gaza Strip on Saturday as it faces another total telecommunications disruption and a critical humanitarian situation on the 99th day of the war.
Since Friday, the war between Israel and Hamas has shifted in part to Yemen, where American and British forces have carried out attacks against Yemen's Houthi rebels, including more on Saturday morning, who are threatening shipping in the Red Sea out of “solidarity” with Gaza.
And at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, Israel defended itself against charges of genocide over its operations in the Gaza Strip, which it described as “completely distorted” and “malicious.”
Bombings continued in Gaza overnight, witnesses said, while the United Nations accused the Israeli army of restricting fuel supplies, particularly to hospitals.
“Total cut”
“We regret to announce the total disruption of communications and internet services in Gaza after the Israeli side shut down the servers,” Palestinian operator Paltel said in a statement on Friday.
Such cuts have been made in the Palestinian territories since hostilities began, and each time rescuers complain about the impact on the coordination of emergency services.
“Communication with our teams in Gaza is completely interrupted,” complained the Palestinian Red Crescent.
According to a source in the Hamas Ministry of Health, the lack of fuel led to the shutdown of the main generator at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah (center).
“We fear the death of patients and children in the intensive care unit and in [services] Pediatrics,” the Hamas media office said.
Medication for hostages
The war, which entered its 99th day on Saturday, was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on Israeli soil that killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count of Israeli records.
Israel has vowed to “destroy” Hamas and is retaliating by bombing the Gaza Strip, where 23,708 people have been killed and more than 60,000 others injured, mostly civilians, since 2007, according to the latest Hamas Health Ministry report.
Israel aims to destroy Hamas and return hostages kidnapped to Gaza during the October 7 attack. Of the 250 people kidnapped, around a hundred were released during a ceasefire at the end of November, according to Israeli authorities.
The hostages would receive medication “in the coming days” under an agreement negotiated with Qatar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday.
A diplomat familiar with the negotiations with Qatar stated that “both parties,” Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement, “have expressed their desire to authorize the supply of medicines.”
“The mediators are currently finalizing the details” regarding the type and quantity of drugs needed and the conditions for their delivery, this source said. “The logistics of delivery are being discussed,” she continued.
For his part, a source close to Hamas confirmed to AFP that talks on the import of medicines were taking place, but not their conclusion.
Marriage in war
In the occupied West Bank, where violence has increased since October 7, the Israeli army says it has killed three people who attacked the Jewish colony of Adora.
Attackers entered the settlement, located about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Hebron, a major city in the south of the West Bank, and opened fire on patrolling soldiers, the army said.
The soldiers opened fire and killed three people, a 19-year-old and two 16-year-olds, according to the Palestinian agency Wafa.
In Rafah, the war and clashes have not stopped Afnan and Moustapha from uniting their destinies in this city at the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled the fighting are gathering.
“The house where the groom was supposed to live was destroyed and as the war continued, we thought it was still better for them to get married,” Ayman Shamlakh, uncle of the groom, told AFP.
“We have martyrs just like them (other families, editor's note). We all experience the same tragedy. But we must go on living, and life must go on,” he breathes.
For Mohamed Gebreel, the bride's father, there is no doubt: “We are a people who love life despite death, murder and destruction.”