War on Gaza: Israel begins ground invasion as humanitarian crisis deepens
Saudi, Oman condemn invasion, warn of consequences Nigeria, clerics urge end to killings Int’l media, aid agencies lose contact with staff
The Israeli military appears to have begun an invasion of Gaza without announcing it, sending troops into the enclave in what appears to be its longest and most ambitious ground incursion since Hamas carried out cross-border attacks on October 7, New York Times reports.
Troops advanced into the northern part of the enclave on Friday evening, accompanied by a massive aerial and artillery bombardment and remained there on Saturday evening, according to military officials.
However, the military has not publicly described the operation as an invasion. But its army posted videos showing Israeli forces targeting Hamas anti-tank positions.
“Starting early last night, the Israeli military, led by combined combat teams of armoured, engineering and infantry forces, is operating on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip,” the post stated.
The announcement came more than 24 hours after entering the Palestinian territory as the military expanded its war on Hamas.
As Israel presses a ground operation and continues to bombard Gaza, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has warned that there is the potential for thousands more civilians to die.
“Given the manner in which military operations have been conducted until now, in the context of the 56-year-old occupation, I am raising the alarm about the possibly catastrophic consequences of largescale ground operations in Gaza and the potential for thousands more civilians to die,” he stated.
Saudi, Oman condemn invasion
On its part, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has issued a statement condemning Israeli ground operations that threaten the lives of Palestinian civilians.
“The Kingdom warns of the danger of continuing to carry out these blatant and unjustified violations of international law against our brotherly Palestinians,” the statement noted after Israel announced expanded military operations in Gaza.
Oman has also voiced concern over the full Israeli incursion into Gaza, cautioning that it will have a ‘catastrophic consequences.’
Its foreign ministry warned that an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza would have “serious catastrophic consequences on the region and the world, and the prospects of achieving peace and stability.”
He called on the international community to immediately intervene to stop the Israel-Palestine war and to speed humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.
The ministry added that Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Int’l media, aid agencies lose contact with staff
Gazan internet connections and phone lines were down and the cutoff of most communications made it difficult to assess the extent of the military action. Hamas’s armed wing confirmed on Friday night and Saturday afternoon that its forces were fighting with Israeli soldiers inside Gaza.
Palestinian telecommunication networks blamed Israel’s bombardment for the wide-scale blackout, which left most people in Gaza unreachable by phone.
The blackout sparked fear and panic, according to residents who were able to reach the outside world as people struggled to get information or check on family and friends.
“The explosions were happening to our left, to our right - from all directions,” said Helmi Mousa, a Gaza
City resident, who was able to use his cellphone, possibly because he had a foreign SIM card. “The anxiety has been devastating ever since the communications went black,” he added.
Following a widespread communication blackout in Gaza and a night of intensive bombing, UN chief, Antonio Guterres, said the ongoing situation “must be reversed” and repeated his calls for a ceasefire. He added that he was extremely concerned about UN staff in Gaza given the Israeli military’s blockade of communications, and that he was surprised by Israel’s unprecedented escalation of its bombardments in Gaza.
The UN chief added that he was encouraged by a growing international consensus for a humanitarian pause in the strip, where thousands of people have already been killed since October 7.
The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated on X that the blackout was “making it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured,” and international aid agencies said they had lost contact with their staff there.
A spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry said on Al Jazeera that Israeli strikes had killed nearly 400 Palestinians in the past several hours, raising its death toll in the Strip to over 7,700.
Previously, its updates came every few hours to their social media channels, but they have been silent since phone and internet connections were cut off.
Juliette Touma, the director of communication of UNRWA, said the blackout in Gaza had complicated an already difficult humanitarian operation for the UN agency.
“Today, we have only one line of communication with our director, who continues to be in southern Gaza, in Rafah. We have just been able to establish some communication with five of our area officers spread across the Gaza Strip. They are using satellite phones to communicate. But it is patchy and not always reliable.
“We received reports that the bombardments last night were believed to be some of the heaviest since the war started three weeks ago. We have already lost 53 of our colleagues in Gaza,” she told Al Jazeera, adding that it is highly likely that UNRWA could have lost more colleagues during the bombardments last night.
Touma stressed that right now, it is really important for the world to remember that across the Gaza Strip there are about 2.3million people who are very kind.