By The opinion
28 Oct 2023, 2:27 PM EDT
The Israeli army appears to have launched an invasion of Gaza, without announcing itsending troops to the enclave in what appears to be its longest and most ambitious ground incursion since Hamas carried out cross-border attacks on October 7, it was reported. The New York Times.
According to military officials, Israeli troops advanced into the northern part of the enclave on Friday night, accompanied by massive aerial and artillery bombardment, and remained there on Saturday night.
The armed wing of Hamas confirmed on Friday night and Saturday afternoon that his forces were fighting with Israeli soldiers inside Gaza.
The Israeli military has not publicly described the operation as an invasion and the move appears more limited at this point than some experts had predicted. The army has only released brief images of its advance and few Palestinian accounts have emerged.
Internet and telephone outage generates uncertainty
Internet connections and phone lines in Gaza were down, making it difficult to assess the extent of the military action.
Palestinian telecommunications networks blamed Israel’s bombing for the digital blackout, which left most people in Gaza unreachable by phone. The blackout sparked fear and panic, residents said, while People were scrambling to get information or check on their friends and family..
The head of the World Health Organization said on social media site X that the blackout also “made it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured,” and international aid agencies said they had lost contact with their staff there.
For its part, a spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry told Al Jazeera that Israeli attacks had killed almost 400 Palestinians in the last hoursraising the death toll in the Strip to more than 7,700.
Previously, their updates came every few hours on their social media channels, but they have been silent since phone and internet connections were cut.
Groups including the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF and the Palestinian Red Crescent said they had lost contact with staff members inside the Gaza Strip and expressed concern about their ability to continue providing critical aid.
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