Gazans, who have refused to leave the enclave’s north despite Israeli warnings, are living in a state of “panic, fear and chaos” amid the heaviest bombardment since October 7 and a complete communications blackout.
On Saturday, shocking images emerged from the occupied Palestinian territories as bombings cut off electricity, internet or telephone signals to civilians, journalists and aid groups.
Israel has deployed ground troops and tanks in Gaza after bombing 150 “underground targets” in the region’s north where Hamas terrorists are said to be sheltering; More vehicles and thousands of soldiers gather in Israeli border towns.
“Terror tunnels, underground combat rooms and additional underground infrastructure” were attacked, the military said, adding that “several Hamas terrorists were killed.”
It begins allowing humanitarian aid into southern Gaza while it bombs the north, claiming it has killed two “spearheads” of Hamas commanders, including an architect of the Oct. 7 attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis became.
Israel stepped up its airstrikes on northern parts of the enclave overnight, saying it had targeted about 150 “underground targets” where Hamas terrorists were taking refuge
People gather on Saturday amid destruction around the Al-Shatee camp after the latest round of bombing
Women walk past a destroyed building in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Saturday
Families pass by scenes of devastation in Gaza on Saturday morning after Israel launched its most intensive bombing campaign yet following the October 7 attacks
Smoke rises from an explosion in the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Israel says troops ‘still deployed out there and continuing their campaign’
Israeli troops give a thumbs up to a photographer as they pass through the border town of Sderot, less than a kilometer from Gaza
People gather on the streets of the Al-Shatee refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip, which was subjected to heavy bombardment by Israel on Saturday night
However, observers called for a ceasefire to be negotiated between Israel and Hamas as the Palestinian death toll rose to over 7,700, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The toll is expected to cover more than 3,000 children.
With the internet shut down, Palestinians in Gaza traveled on foot or by car to check on their relatives and friends after a night of airstrikes that some described as the fiercest they had ever experienced, even during previous Gaza wars.
BBC correspondent Rushi Abualouf said from the southern town of Khan Younis: “We have had no communication here for the last 10 hours as Israel has cut internet and fiber optic lines and the two main mobile phone providers have also been stopped so people have not been able to communicate. “to communicate with each other.
“(It is) a state of panic, fear and chaos; Very chaotic scenes on the street. “People don’t know what to do under these circumstances.”
“The bombs were everywhere, the building was shaking,” said Hind al-Khudary, a journalist in central Gaza and one of the few people with cell phone reception.
“We can’t reach or contact anyone.” “I don’t know where my family is.”
Human Rights Watch warned that the information blackout “risks covering up mass atrocities and contributing to impunity for human rights abuses.”
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, which runs shelters and schools for nearly half of all displaced Gazans, has lost contact with most of its staff, spokeswoman Juliette Touma said Saturday.
She said coordinating relief efforts was now “extremely challenging.”
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom said the power outage had made it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured.
“We are still not in contact with our staff and health facilities.” “I am concerned for their safety,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Elsewhere, Melanie Ward, chief executive of the charity Medical Aid for Palestine, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Saturday that she had not been able to contact humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip since 4pm on Friday.
She added: “Phones are not connecting, WhatsApp messages are not being delivered – we are very worried for all our colleagues.”
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said earlier on Saturday: “As for the humanitarian aspect, to all Gazans who have moved south of the Gaza River, we will increase our humanitarian efforts.”
“More trucks will arrive with food, medicine and water.” “Everyone in this area who is safe will receive water, medicine and food.”
UN trucks carrying humanitarian aid arrive in the Palestinian city of Deir al-Balah; Israel had promised to allow aid organizations to enter through Egypt
Palestinians transport food aid from a United Nations-run supply center on Saturday morning, while deliveries were made from the southern border with Egypt
Men carry boxes of United Nations-issued humanitarian aid after it was delivered to Palestinian-occupied territory in the Gaza Strip on Saturday
Palestinians examine destroyed buildings in Gaza City on Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is sending ground troops and armored vehicles into the occupied territory
A young boy holds up an artificial flower that he circled in the rubble of a building following Israel’s intensifying airstrikes on Friday evening
A man sits in front of destroyed buildings and rubble in the streets of Gaza City on Saturday after Israel carried out heavy bombing attacks overnight
Debris of collapsed buildings and trees in the southern city of Rafah, Gaza, on Saturday
UN trucks carrying aid arrived in Gaza today; Images show people carrying basic food items and boxes of goods.
But amid the power outages, aid workers fear they won’t be able to communicate effectively as they try to distribute other aid.
Melanie Ward, chief executive of the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Saturday that she had been unable to reach humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip since 4pm on Friday.
She added: “Phones are not connecting, WhatsApp messages are not being delivered – we are very worried for all our colleagues.”
Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, said the organization was “extremely concerned” for aid workers and civilians in Gaza after the power outage prevented her team from communicating.
“As the conflict rages on, I am deeply concerned for the safety of all humanitarian workers and civilians,” she said on X. “We are at a turning point. “Humanity must win.”
Guillemette Thomas, medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories, said the aid group had not been able to reach her team for more than 12 hours.
“The situation is very difficult,” she told The Associated Press. “We can’t communicate with our team.” “We don’t know if they’re safe.”
International observers have called for a halt to the bombing and the negotiation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on
“Everyone must fulfill their responsibilities.” This is a moment of truth. History will judge us all.’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed on Saturday that Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip violates international law and risks a catastrophe that could last for decades.
Lavrov made Moscow’s most critical comments toward Israel to date in an interview with the Belarusian state news agency Belta published on Saturday.
An Israeli artillery position fires a mortar shell into the Gaza Strip on Saturday. Witnesses say the latest round of bombings is one of the most brutal ever
A rocket hits a minaret in Gaza on Saturday – as Israel’s deadly bombardment of the enclave continued overnight into the day
Israeli jeeps patrol a road in Sderot on the Israel-Gaza border on Saturday
Israeli tanks and all-terrain vehicles continue to gather at the border after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had sent troops and armor to Gaza
“While we condemn terrorism, we categorically reject the possibility of responding to terrorism by violating the norms of international humanitarian law, including the indiscriminate use of force against targets where civilians are known to be present, including captured hostages,” said Lavrov.
The health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said on Saturday that at least 7,703 people had been killed in the war with Israel that broke out on October 7.
The ministry added that more than 3,500 children were among the dead.
More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel, mostly civilians killed during the first Hamas attack.
In addition, 229 people, including foreigners, children and older adults, were arrested by Hamas during the raid and remain trapped in Gaza. So far four hostages have been released early.
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that Gaza was facing an “unprecedented avalanche of human suffering” due to shortages of food, water and electricity during Israeli bombings in response to the Hamas attack.
“I reiterate my call for a humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and the delivery of life-saving supplies,” Mr. Guterres said.
Before the war, about 500 trucks a day rolled into Gaza carrying supplies, but in recent days the average has dropped to just 12, entering through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, he said.