The Israeli army disclosed that it has struck 150 “terror tunnels, underground combat spaces and additional underground infrastructure” in overnight raids in the north of the Gaza Strip.
It added that “several Hamas terrorists were killed.”
The Israeli army stated that its fighter jets struck Asem Abu Rakaba, head of the Hamas Aerial Array.
It said that Abu Rakaba was responsible for Hamas’s UAVs, drones, paragliders, aerial detection and aerial defence, and had taken part in planning the surprise attacks inside Israel on October 7, 2023.
There was no immediate comment by Hamas.
The Israeli army also said that it carried out an air raid against a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon overnight.
A statement on X noted that the attack was in response to a rocket fire towards Israel.
Israel has intensified its bombardment of the beseiged Gaza Strip as internet and mobile communications services collapsed in the Palestinian territory late Friday, October 27, 2023.
At the moment, there is still a near-total blackout of communications in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Palestine Telecommunications Company, phone networks and the internet have been largely cut off amid heavy Israeli bombardment of feeder lines and towers.
A number of international agencies and NGOs said they had lost touch with their staff in Gaza on Friday, including the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
In a statement, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) expressed “deep concern” for media workers in Gaza after the communications blackout.
It said that Israel targeted Gaza’s cellular and internet networks to suppress information about “new massacres” it will commit in the Palestinian territory.
“The PJS holds the Israeli occupation authorities fully responsible for the lives of fellow journalists and urges the United Nations and its organizations and all human rights organizations to immediately intervene and stop the war of genocide in Gaza and restore access to communication in Gaza.”
Palestinian Journalists Syndicate
A Cover For Mass Atrocities
Deborah Brown, the senior technology and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the near-total communication blackout in the bombarded enclave is preventing people from “communicating with loved ones and accessing life-saving medical and other essential services”.
She added, “This information blackout risks providing cover for mass atrocities and contributing to impunity for human rights violations.”
Additionally, Amnesty International said the lack of communication “means that it will be even more difficult to obtain critical information and evidence about human rights violations and war crimes being committed against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and to hear directly from those experiencing the violations.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists also issued a statement saying that a “communications blackout is a news blackout” that can lead to “serious consequences”, including the spread of misinformation.
“At this dark hour, we stand with journalists, with those truth seekers whose daily work keeps us informed with facts that shed light on the human condition and help to hold power to account,” it said.
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