Israel Intensifies Gaza Bombardment Amid Total Communication Blackout; “Something Bigger” Going To Happen: Report

As Gaza faces a complete communication blackout, Israel has intensified its bombardment of the northern part of the Palestinian exclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, a military spokesperson has stated that Israeli ground forces are “expanding operations.”

Safwat al-Kahlout, reporting from Gaza for Al Jazeera, noted that the recent surge in Israeli air raids over the past few hours, combined with the breakdown in communication, suggests that something “bigger” is looming in Gaza.

According to him, this may indicate the possibility of a ground invasion in Gaza or that the ongoing negotiations to swap prisoners could yield results. Al Jazeera reported quoting sources that negotiations, mediated by Qatar, on a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas are “progressing and at an advanced stage”.

Al Jazeera reported that explosions continue to light up the Gaza sky as Israeli forces conduct air raids, and mobile phone service and internet connectivity in the enclave remain largely disrupted.

“Apart from the humanitarian catastrophe that has been happening before the world’s eyes the last few days, we are now facing a total darkness. We don’t know what’s happening,” Marwan Jilani, director of the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), told the Qatar-based news broadcaster from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights stated in a recent social media post that all telecommunication services in Gaza have been disrupted, rendering ambulances and civil defense teams unable to locate the injured or people trapped under rubble amid the unprecedented Israeli attacks reported throughout Gaza.

The rights group asked in the post, “Where is the respect for civilian lives?”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees, said 14 additional UNRWA staff were killed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 53 staff killed since October 7.

Israel air strikes have killed more than 7,000 in Gaza while 1,400 were killed in Israel after a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7.