Situation dire in ‘blacked out Gaza’

Gaza was largely cut off from the outside world yesterday as Israel rained more bombs from the air and suggested its long-promised ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave was underway.

Israel said troops sent in on Friday night were still in the field whereas previously it had made only brief sorties during three weeks of bombing of Gaza.

"We attacked above the ground and under ground, we attacked terror operatives of all ranks, everywhere," Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video statement.

"The operation will continue until a new order."

Gaza has been under an almost complete communications blackout since Friday evening, which the Palestinian Red Crescent blamed on Israel.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk yesterday warned there was the potential for thousands more civilians to die if Israel presses a major ground offensive in Gaza.

Israel's army relentlessly hammered the territory yesterday after a fierce overnight bombardment that rescuers said destroyed hundreds of buildings.

"Given the manner in which military operations have been conducted until now, in the context of the 56-year-old occupation, I am raising alarm about the possibly catastrophic consequences of large-scale ground operations in Gaza and the potential for thousands more civilians to die," Turk said.

"There is no safe place in Gaza and there is no way out. I am very worried for my colleagues, as I am for all civilians in Gaza."

Israel unleashed its bombing campaign after Hamas gunmen stormed across the Gaza border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seizing more than 220 hostages, according to Israeli officials.

The health ministry in Gaza said Israeli strikes had killed 7,703 people, mainly civilians, including more than 3,500 children.

Aid agencies say a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding for Gaza's 2.4 million people who are under a total Israeli blockade.

The UN rights chief also condemned the Internet and telecommunications blackout that has hit the Palestinian enclave since Friday.

"Compounding the misery and suffering of civilians, Israeli strikes on telecommunications installations and subsequent Internet shutdown have effectively left Gazans with no way of knowing what is happening across Gaza and cut them off from the outside world," he said.

"Ambulances and civil defence teams are no longer able to locate the injured, or the thousands of people estimated to be still under the rubble.

"When these hostilities end, those who have survived will face the rubble of their homes and the graves of their family members," Turk said.

He called on all parties "to do all in their power to de-escalate the conflict".

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the blackout was blocking ambulances and evacuations of patients and denying people safe shelter.

The few journalists who made contact with the outside world also said the situation was the worst it had been.

"If you are dying, you can't ring up the ambulance service. If you are struck, whatever happens, you can't communicate with anyone," Plestia Alaqad said in a video.

Drones and planes buzzed in the background.

"There is no internet, no network, no service, no fuel to move around by car, no electricity, nothing," she added.

Al Jazeera, which broadcast live satellite TV footage overnight showing frequent blasts in Gaza, yesterday said Israeli air strikes had hit areas around the enclave's main hospital, Al Shifa, in Gaza City in the north.

The United States and other Western countries have offered strong support to Israel but urged it to hold off on a ground offensive for fear of high casualties among Palestinians and a widening conflict.