Israeli tanks, infantry press into Gaza City as telecoms blackout hits region

Israeli tanks and infantry rolled into two Gaza City areas that are gateways to the city center on Thursday as internet and phone services were cut off across the Gaza Strip, a move that signaled an escalation of ground operations. The health ministry said at least 79 Palestinians were killed in the previous 24 hours, most in Gaza City, as the fighting intensified and civilians sought shelter amid claims of heavy bombardment.

Israeli army spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said troops had been operating in the city’s periphery for weeks, but since the night of Monday to Tuesday large numbers of troops had begun moving toward the inner city. He said a combination of infantry, tanks and artillery was advancing, backed up by the air force, and that it was a gradual process that would increase as time went on. The military said the aim was to defeat Hamas and apply pressure that could lead to a deal or rescue missions to free hostages. As troops pushed closer to central and western neighborhoods where many residents have taken shelter, the ground operation appeared to be expanding from earlier footholds on Gaza City’s eastern outskirts.

The Palestinian Telecommunications Company said in a statement that its services had been cut off “due to the ongoing aggression and the targeting of the main network routes.” The disruption compounded a dire humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Israel announced on August 10 that it would seek to take control, though many remain in battered homes, makeshift encampments or along devastated streets.

Displaced residents described a grim choice between remaining in bombed neighborhoods or attempting to reach the south, where a designated “humanitarian zone” had been established by Israel. Some said they did not have transport or enough money to leave, while others described dangerous conditions in the camps and along transport routes. Bassam Al-Qanou, a displaced man sheltering with around 30 family members in a ragged improvised tent camp on the beach, said they had no way to get out and nowhere to go. “We are scared, but what can we do?” he said, noting that children could not sleep amid the threat of missiles launched from sea, air and ground.

Leaflets dropped by the military urged civilians to flee toward the humanitarian zone in the south, but aid agencies say the zone’s conditions are dire: insufficient food, medicine and space, with shelter that is inadequate for the scale of displaced people. In the past 24 hours, four more Palestinians, including a child, have died of malnutrition and starvation, raising the toll from hunger to at least 435 people, including 147 children, since the war began. Israel has disputed hunger figures, saying the level of hunger is exaggerated and blames Hamas for prolonging the war by withholding surrender, hostages and disarming the group. Hamas says it will not disarm until a Palestinian state is established.

Shoshani said the ground operation was being conducted with precautions to limit civilian casualties and to allow humanitarian assistance, but he accused Hamas of dissuading people from leaving the combat zone for the humanitarian zone by using civilians as human shields. Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run government media office, countered that Israel’s claims of safe zones were false and that civilian areas were being targeted deliberately. He cited data indicating that 44% of the 3,542 people killed by Israel since August 11 had died in central and southern areas, arguing that the targeting had been comprehensive and aimed at civilians and designated shelter areas alike.

Along the coastal road, a steady stream of vehicles moved south, carrying families, mattresses, gas cylinders and other belongings. An unbroken line of cars, vans and carts formed a convoy that stretched for miles as people sought to reach the southern areas, or at least space away from the most intense strikes. A displaced woman driving a cart said her family would sleep on the street near the beach and that they had no idea where they would ultimately end up.

The total toll from the two-year war rose above 65,000 by Wednesday, according to Gaza health authorities. The conflict traces back to the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. The war has drawn in regional and international actors and prompted frequent clashes and shifting battlefield lines as both sides accuse each other of violations and humanitarian harm.

The military described the situation on the ground as challenging but said it would continue to press the operation, while emphasizing its stated aim of defeating Hamas and creating conditions for potential humanitarian access and hostage rescue. Hamas maintains that it will not disarm absent a broader political settlement and the establishment of a Palestinian state, a stance that continues to complicate prospects for a quick end to the conflict. Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the war as facts on the ground evolve in what remain a rapidly changing and deadly theater of operation.