“complete communications blackout” in Gaza; Israel targets Hamas political leader: Live updates
The Palestinian Telecommunications Company Paltel announced today, Thursday, the interruption of all communications in the Gaza Strip due to a lack of fuel.
The communications crisis came at a time when Palestinians who fled northern Gaza on orders from the Israeli army were warned to evacuate parts of southern Gaza, a shift in the war that threatens to worsen the situation. Severe humanitarian crisis Already unfolding in the besieged pocket.
Paltel said on social media: “Dear people in our beloved homeland, we regret to announce a complete interruption of communications services (fixed, cellular, and Internet) in the Gaza Strip.” The company said it was unable to obtain fuel and that backup energy sources to operate the grid had been exhausted.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees, which is trying to manage the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, confirmed the “total communications blackout” during a press conference in Geneva. The Times of Israel mentioned. Lazzarini warned a few days ago that the entire aid mission “will soon stop” unless Israel eases its blockade and allows more fuel to enter Gaza.
The United Nations says that at least 1.5 million Gazans have been internally displaced due to the war. They remain trapped in a 140-square-mile area where much of the infrastructure has been bombed into submission since Israel began its offensive on October 7, the day a brutal attack by Hamas militants devastated Israel’s border communities and stunned the world.
Israel says more than 1,200 were killed that day and militants took 240 hostage. The Gaza Ministry of Health says more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed since then.
Hamas in the hospital Israel says the weapons shown in the video “fully confirm” that the Gaza hospital was a Hamas stronghold
Developments:
∎ Laptops seized by Israeli forces during their raid on Shifa Hospital in Gaza included photos and videos of some of the more than 240 hostages taken by militants, the Israeli military told a BBC news crew that provided access to the hospital.
∎ Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is not working and urged him to resign: “Netanyahu must leave now while fighting.”
∎ The IDF claimed that Israel had seized control of the Gaza port from Hamas, which had been using the port as a training facility for naval commandos. The army said that ten tunnel corridors and four buildings “used for terrorism” were destroyed and ten militants were killed.
Israel bombs the home of the political leader of Hamas
The Israeli army said that Israeli aircraft bombed the home of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Gaza. The army released a video of fighter jets bombing the building, which Israel says is part of Hamas’ military infrastructure and a meeting place for senior Hamas leaders to direct terrorist attacks against Israel. The fate of Haniyeh, a senior Hamas official, was not immediately revealed.
Israel warned Palestinians in some parts of the southern Gaza Strip not to flee
Residents and journalists said that the Israeli army dropped leaflets near the southern town of Khan Yunis warning people to evacuate, and that anyone found near Hamas activists “puts their lives in danger.” Similar leaflets were dropped across northern Gaza in the weeks before the Israeli ground offensive began.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled attacks in northern Gaza crowded their homes and UN-run shelters in the south.
A Holocaust survivor says he was bullied on TikTok because of its anti-Semitism
He is 88 years old Holocaust survivor Using TikTok to make sure the new generation doesn’t forget what they say He was bullied on the social media platform Through the resurgence of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Jadon Leaf, a TikTok celebrity with nearly half a million followers, plans to deactivate his account after a deluge Hate comments and messages After the Hamas attacks on October 7, he feared for his safety. Lev, a retired dairy farmer who lived for years on the Gaza border, says he turns to TikTok on Instagram.
“a Holocaust survivor He was forced to leave Tiktuk after the worst pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust. Imagine that,” his partner Julie Gray told USA TODAY. Read more here.
– Jessica Gwen
The UAE is building much-needed water stations in Gaza
The United Arab Emirates announced plans to build three water desalination plants in the Gaza Strip. The UAE Ministry of Defense said that producing 600,000 gallons of water per day could save about 300,000 gallons, but it did not say when the stations would start operating.
This announcement came on the same day that the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics issued a report warning that Gaza is facing a severe water crisis. The Israeli bombing destroyed a large part of Gaza’s infrastructure, including the water network. The office said that 55% of Gaza’s water supply networks are in urgent need of repair.
Muslim and Arab leaders discuss the rise of Islamophobia with Biden administration officials
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and other senior officials in the Biden-Harris administration met Wednesday with leaders of national Muslim, Arab, and Sikh organizations to discuss efforts to confront the rise in cases of Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and hate-fueled threats in schools and college campuses. Earlier this month, the White House announced that the Biden-Harris administration would develop the first-ever national strategy to combat Islamophobia.
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel: Hamas War: Live Updates: Conflict expands into southern Gaza
