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The Israeli military says it has increased its strikes on Gaza “in a very significant way,” as Israel moves a step closer to a full ground offensive in Gaza.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised address: “We will continue to strike in Gaza City and around.”
“In addition to the attacks carried out in the last few days, ground forces are expanding their operations tonight,” he added.
The armed wing of Hamas said it responded with “salvos” of rockets aimed at Israel. It added in a statement Saturday their fighters were “completely ready” to confront Israel’s “aggression with full force.”
Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the US and EU among others.
Hamas, which runs Gaza, said earlier that Israel had “cut communications and most of the internet” across the Gaza Strip.
Internet watchdog NetBlocks said late Friday that the last remaining major Palestinian telecommunications company, Paltel, reported as having highly disrupted communication lines.
Paltel later said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “all telecommunication services including landline, mobile and internet” were severed as a result of Israeli bombardment.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it is “highly alarmed” by the reports of a communications blackout in Gaza.
“A communications blackout is a news blackout,” CPJ said in a statement. “This can lead to consequences with an independent, factual information vacuum can be filled with deadly propaganda, dis-and misinformation.”
rm, rmt/wd (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)
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