Gaza hit by telecoms blackout as Israeli tanks advance
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Smoke rising in Gaza City following Israeli strikes on Sept 18.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CAIRO – Israeli tanks were seen in two Gaza City areas that are gateways to the city centre, residents said on Sept 18, while internet and phone lines were cut off across the Gaza Strip, a sign that ground operations were likely to escalate imminently.
Israeli forces control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs and, in recent days, have been pounding the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa areas, from where they would be positioned to advance on central and western areas where most of the population is sheltering.
“The disconnection of internet and phone services is a bad omen. It has always been a bad signal that something very brutal is going to happen,” said Mr Ismail, who gave only one name.
He was using an e-SIM to connect his phone, a dangerous method as it requires seeking higher ground to receive a signal.
“The situation around me is very desperate. People in tents and in houses are very worried for their lives. Many can’t afford to leave, but many do not want to,” he said, speaking from a coastal area in the west of the city.
Main network routes targeted, telecoms company says
At least 14 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes or gunfire across the Gaza Strip on Sept 18, including nine in Gaza City, the local health authorities said.
The Palestine 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”.
In its latest statement to the media, the Israeli military said troops were expanding their operations in Gaza City, dismantling what it called “terror infrastructure” and “eliminating terrorists”.
The statement did not mention the telecoms blackout or give any details of tank movements.
It also said the military was continuing to operate in Khan Younis and Rafah in the south.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Israel announced on Aug 10 it intended to take control, but a greater number of them are staying put, either in battered homes among the ruins or in makeshift tent encampments.
The military has been dropping leaflets urging residents to flee towards a designated “humanitarian zone” in the south of the territory, but conditions there are dire, with insufficient food, medicine and space and inadequate shelter.
Israel says it wants to smash Palestinian militant group Hamas in its strongholds and free the last hostages still being held in Gaza, but its latest major offensive after two years of devastating war has drawn international condemnation.
Tanks seen in two strategically located neighbourhoods
In Sheikh Radwan, which is north of the city centre and has come under heavy bombardment in recent days, residents said they had seen tanks in the heart of their neighbourhood.
They also said Israeli forces had detonated four driverless vehicles full of explosives and the blasts had destroyed many houses.
Similar explosions had rocked Tel Al-Hawa, which is located south-east of the city centre, and residents there also reported seeing tanks in the streets.
Israel announced on Sept 16 it was launching the main phase of its ground assault, but the bombardment of several Gaza City areas had begun in previous days.
Israel said on Sept 17 that it was opening an additional route out of the city for 48 hours
Data from international aid agencies indicates that more than 55,000 people fled northern Gaza between Sept 14 and 17, but over half a million have not left, according to both Israeli and Hamas estimates.
Palestinian death toll passes 65,000, health authority says
The total Palestinian death toll from the two-year-old war between Israel and Hamas surpassed 65,000 on Sept 17, according to the Gaza health authorities. Palestinian officials and rescue workers say the true figure is likely higher as many remains are trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.
The war was triggered by Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023
Much of Gaza City was laid waste early in the war, but around one million Palestinians had returned there to homes among the ruins owing to the awful conditions in displacement areas. REUTERS
