The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Saturday urged the international community for immediate intervention to stop “rapid and dangerous developments” in Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
It called on the world to stop the war considering the rapid developments in Gaza, particularly cutting off communications, the internet and continuous shelling.
In a post shared on X, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates stated, “Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates// Calls on the entire world for immediate intervention to stop the rapid and dangerous developments in the Israeli occupation war on Gaza Strip.”
It further stated, “In light of the recent rapid developments in the destructive occupation war on Gaza Strip, especially the cutting off of the communications, the internet, and the unprecedented and continuous shelling, as an indicator of the beginning of ground invasions, the Ministry calls on the entire world to assume its responsibilities and intervene immediately to stop this war, which leads to the deepening of #genocide and the expansion of the Israeli #massacres committed every minute against our people in the Gaza Strip.”
Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates’ statement comes after Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military has ramped up airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in the past few hours and will expand activity tonight, The Times of Israel reported.
Explosions have been seen in Gaza skyline as Israel intensifies ground operations, Reuters reported. Missiles were also fired at Israel’s Ashkelon city. Heavy shelling lit up the night on the Gaza side of the border area with Israel on Friday as the Israeli army expanded its military operation into the enclave, according to visuals captured by Reuters.
Hagari said, “The Air Force is striking underground targets very significantly,” adding that ground forces will “expand” their activity tonight. For the past two days, IDF infantry forces and tanks have carried out limited raids into the Gaza Strip.
According to Hagari, the IDF will continue to strike Gaza City and surrounding regions in northern Gaza. He renewed his call for Palestinians to relocate to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, according to The Times of Israel report.
Hagari said, “We are prepared to defend in all arenas. We are acting in order to protect the security interests of the State of Israel.”Palestinian media outlets report heavy Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, particularly in its north. Visuals from the region show plumes of smoke and fireballs above Gaza City, according to The Times of Israel report.
NetStream, a primary internet provider in the Gaza Strip, has stopped providing services, the global internet monitor NetBlocks announced in a post shared on X, The Jerusalem Post reported.
In a post shared on X, NetBlocks wrote, “Confirmed: Real-time network data show that NetStream, one of the last remaining internet providers in Gaza, has collapsed days after the operator notified subscribers that service would end due to a severe shortage of fuel supplies.”
The chart posted by the internet monitor shows network connectivity in Palestine started to rapidly deteriorate on October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post report.
Palestinian mobile phone service provider Jawwal said that services, including phone and internet, had been cut by heavy bombardment, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Palestine Red Crescent Society in a statement said it had completely lost contact with its operations room in Gaza and all its teams operating on the ground.
Palestine Red Crescent in a statement said, “We are deeply concerned about the ability of our teams to continue providing their emergency medical services, especially since this disruption affects the central emergency number ‘101’ and hinders the arrival of ambulance vehicles to the wounded and injured,” CNN reported.
After Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was expanding its ground operations in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians in Gaza have said that IDF ground forces, including tanks, are operating within the enclave, The Times of Israel reported. Reports of heavy exchanges of fire between the soldiers and gunmen have emerged.
Reports of anti-tank missiles fired on IDF tanks near the Gaza border, i24News English reported. According to i24News English Middle East Correspondent Ariel Oseran, it is not yet a “full-scale ground invasion of Gaza.”
Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have said that the Shifa Hospital also acts as the “main headquarters” for Hamas terrorist activity.
Taking to X, the IDF stated, “The Shifa Hospital is not only the largest hospital in Gaza but it also acts as the main headquarters for Hamas’ terrorist activity. Terrorism does not belong in a hospital and the IDF will operate to uncover any terrorist infrastructure.”
In another post shared on X, the IDF stated, “Hamas is a plague hiding in a hospital.”
Daniel Hagari on Friday said that the Hamas terror group’s main base of operations is under Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, The Times of Israel reported.
In a briefing for reporters, Hagari said that Hamas has many underground complexes under Shifa, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, which they are using to direct attacks against Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also levelled similar allegations against Hamas.”Hamas-ISIS is sick. They turn hospitals into headquarters for their terror. We just released intelligence proving it,” posted Netanyahu on X.