From CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh, Abeer Salman, Paul Murphy and Lucas Lilieholm
Communications in Gaza were partially restored on Sunday morning, according to two service providers and a monitoring group.
Palestine Telecommunications (Paltel) announced in a post on its Facebook page that land line, cellular and internet connectivity were gradually being restored after being severely disrupted on Friday evening.
“Despite the seriousness of the field situation, our technical teams were and are still doing everything in their power to repair as much damage as possible to the network, as much as possible and within the available capabilities,” Paltel said in its statement Sunday.
The Jawwal Telecommunication Company also announced Sunday that its telecommunication services were "gradually being restored."
In a separate update posted on X (formerly Twitter), the internet monitoring organization NetBlocks said that internet traffic was being restored in Gaza.
“Confirmed: Real-time network data show that internet connectivity is being restored in the #Gaza Strip; service was disrupted on Friday amid heavy bombardment by Israel, leaving most residents cut off from the outside world at a critical moment,” the message said.
Qatari-owned telecommunications company Ooredoo, which also provides cellular service in Gaza, did not provide an update on any resumption of service.
18 min ago
It's early morning in Israel and Gaza. Catch up on the latest developments in the war
From CNN's Amarachi Orie, Zahid Mahmood, Ivana Kottasová, Kareem Khadder and Lauren Said-Moorhouse
The expanded operation has left families of the more than 200 hostages taken to Gaza fearful for their loved ones. A group lobbying for the families of Israeli hostages spoke of “the most terrible of all nights” as emotions spiked with the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) expansion of its ground operation.
Israel's goals in this stage: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Saturday the war in Gaza is "going to be long." He said the goals of this stage of the war are to destroy Hamas and return the hostages the militant group took on October 7 and still holds in Gaza. Netanyahu confirmed he spoke with family members of the hostages and said he vowed to them that he would exhaust all options to return their loved ones home.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement his country had entered “a new phase in the war.” The official said Israel "attacked above ground and below ground. We attacked terrorist operatives at all levels, in all places. The instructions to our forces are clear: the operation will continue until a new order is given.”
Details on the expanded ground operation: Israeli forces “went into the Gaza Strip and expanded the ground operation where infantry, armor and engineer units and artillery with heavy fire are taking part,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday morning. “The forces are in the field and continue the fighting,” he added, without giving further details.
Hagari’s words confirm the military operation has undergone a significant expansion after what it had earlier described as two “targeted raids,” which took place on Wednesday night and Thursday night. Both those raids saw ground forces withdraw after a few hours. However, it does not appear as though any major ground offensive aimed at seizing and holding significant amounts of the territory is yet underway. In a fresh call for Gazans to move south, the IDF spoke of an “impending” operation.
Mourning in Gaza: Gazans mourned the loss of their loved ones on Saturday following a night of intense Israeli airstrikes, with many gathering at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah in central Gaza. Video captured by CNN shows multiple bodies, including those of children, covered in white shrouds or thick blankets, placed on the ground in the hospital yard. Another video showed a young man lying on the floor of the hospital as doctors operated on him.
More than 2 million people live in the enclave, and for weeks people in the territory have faced Israeli airstrikes and a growing humanitarian situation, with shortages of water, food and fuel. The IDF said Gazans who had moved south of Wadi Gaza, a waterway bisecting the center of the strip, were in a “protected space,” and would receive more food, water and medicine today, but did not give any details.
Aid agencies lose contact: Communications in the enclave have been severely disrupted, leaving aid agencies out of touch with their staff on the ground and emergency services struggling to reach those in need. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday morning that reports of the intense bombardment are “extremely distressing.” He added: “We are still out of touch with our staff and health facilities. I’m worried about their safety.” Several United Nations agencies have also reported losing contact with their local staff in Gaza.
18 min ago
Humanitarian situation in Gaza a "catastrophic failing," Red Cross committee president says
From CNN’s Lucas Lilieholm
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for an immediate de-escalation of hostilities in Gaza and delivery of humanitarian aid.
"It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza amid the massive bombardments, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible. This is a catastrophic failing that the world must not tolerate," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement Saturday.
Spoljaric added that the “immediate imperative must be to save lives” by ensuring healthcare services, water, and electricity are restored in Gaza.
“Under international humanitarian law, the parties are obligated to spare civilians from the effects of military operations at all times, to distinguish between civilians and military targets, and to never use human shields to prevent military objectives from being attacked,” Spoljaric said.
The ICRC also called for the “immediate release of all hostages” and reiterated the organization’s previous offer to facilitate any future hostage release operation.
18 min ago
"The war inside Gaza is going to be long," Israeli prime minister warns
From CNN's Kyle Blaine
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday drew a connection between the conflict with Hamas and the Arab-Israeli War between 1947 and 1949, which occurred as Israel declared its independence.
“The war inside Gaza is going to be long. This is our second independence war. We're going to save our country,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said the second stage of the war against Hamas has begun, with the goal of destroying the group's armed wing and government, and returning hostages held in Gaza home.
“Our heroic fighters have one goal: To destroy this enemy and to make sure the existence of our country. Never again. 'Never again,' is now,” Netanyahu said during a news conference Saturday.
Netanyahu also confirmed he spoke with the family of hostages held by Hamas and vowed to them that he would exhaust all options to return their loved ones.
18 min ago
Families of hostages meet with Netanyahu to call for "comprehensive deal" to return all hostages
From CNN’s Tamar Michaelis in Jerusalem and Maija Ehlinger in Atlanta
Families of hostages held in Gaza say they told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu they would only accept an "everyone in return for everyone" deal, which would secure the immediate release of all hostages.
The families held a news conference shortly after meeting Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Saturday, just before the prime minister held his own media briefing, where he announced the launch of the second stage of the war in Gaza.
"We spoke bluntly and made it clear to the prime minister in no uncertain terms that a comprehensive deal based on the 'everyone for everyone' principle is a deal the families would consider, and has the support of all of Israel," Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of Romi Gonen, said on behalf of the families.
An "everyone for everyone" deal would involve the release of the over 200 hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons, which the nongovernmental organization Palestinian Prisoners Club estimates to be 6,630 people.
Hamas released a statement Saturday claiming the group was willing to engage in such a trade, though any such deal would be hugely controversial in Israel.
Speaking Saturday, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari characterized Hamas' most recent hostage exchange overture a form of "psychological terror aimed to manipulate Israeli civilians."
Netanyahu was asked about such a deal at his Saturday news conference, and acknowledged he discussed the option with the families.
"I think that elaborating on this will not help achieve our goal. In the meeting with the families, I felt emotionally helpless," Netanyahu said.
As the efforts to free the hostages drag on, loved ones have also expressed alarm at the possibility Hamas' captives will be harmed in Israel's intensifying bombardment of Gaza.
"We came with an unequivocal demand that military action takes into account the fate of the hostages and missing, and that any move considered will take into account the well-being of our loved ones," Gonen said on behalf of the families.
18 min ago
Israel says it will fight Elon Musk's pledge to provide aid organizations in Gaza with satellite service
From CNN's Eyad Kourdi, Celine Alkhaldi, Zahid Mahmood and Kyle Blaine
Israel vowed to fight Elon Musk’s pledge to provide aid organizations in Gaza with Starlink satellite service as the besieged strip struggles with internet connectivity.
Israeli Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Hamas "will use it for terrorist activities."
"Perhaps Musk would be willing to condition it with the release of our abducted babies, sons, daughters, elderly people. All of them! By then, my office will cut any ties with starlink,” Karhi posted.
Musk made the announcement on X, which he owns, after US Democratic Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that “cutting off all communication to a population of 2.2 million is unacceptable.”
“Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza,” Musk said in a post replying to Ocasio-Cortez.
In another post replying to another X account, Musk said, “No terminals from Gaza have attempted to communicate with our constellation.”
Communications in the Gaza Strip have been severely disrupted as Israel intensifies its air and ground assault on the region. Aid groups say they have been unable to communicate with teams in the area.
Earlier, the World Health Organization said they are “out of touch” with its staff in Gaza and the commissioner general of the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees wrote to staff on Saturday saying that the organization is “deeply worried” about them amid the blackout.
19 min ago
Israeli military chief says war with Hamas requires ground operation
From CNN's Kyle Blaine, Tamar Michaelis and Jo Shelley
Israel’s military chief said today marks a new stage in the country's war against Hamas, and that it requires a ground offensive.
“This is a war with multiple stages. Today, we move to the next one,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said in a video released by the IDF. “Our forces are currently operating on the ground in the Gaza Strip. These activities are being supported by precise and heavy fire, all in service of the war's objectives: dismantling Hamas, securing our borders and the supreme effort to return the hostages home.”
“The objectives of this war require a ground operation,” Halevi added, saying, “In order to expose and destroy the enemy there is no other way than to enter its territory with force.”
More context: A ground offensive in Gaza has been widely expected following the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas, but it does not appear as though any major operation aimed at seizing and holding significant amounts of the territory is yet underway.
On the ground: Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday that it had struck several Hamas targets in Gaza as part of its expanded ground operation in the strip.
“Since early Friday evening, combined combat forces of armor, combat engineers and infantry have been operating on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip. As part of the operation, IDF soldiers identified terrorist cells attempting to launch anti-tank missiles and mortar shells and struck them. IDF soldiers also identified and destroyed a booby-trapped structure,” the IDF said in a release.
The IDF said that helicopters, under the direction of IDF tanks, struck a building being used by Hamas as an operational meeting point.
The military also said that Israeli soldiers “neutralized” several terrorist cells that attempted to fire anti-tank missiles at them. Forces also struck Hamas members who were located in what was described as a “booby-trapped structure.”
Communications blackout leaves medics struggling to reach wounded Gazans and families unable to talk
From CNN’s Zahid Mahmoud and Livvy Doherty in London, and Abeer Salmaan and Kareem Khadder in Jerusalem
A near total communications blackout has impacted the work of medical staff in Gaza, with paramedics unable to reach the injured and hospitals unable to contact each other.
Dr. Mohamad Al-Rayan, a physician at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, said medics have faced delays in getting to people injured by Israeli airstrikes overnight.
“Paramedics could not reach (the injured), because they had no communication with them. There were a few solutions to the problem, but the situation was very difficult and dangerous. The injured arrived at the hospital many hours later, (as) we could not reach them in a fast and direct manner,” he said.
He told CNN that hospitals in Gaza had also lost contact with one another, making the transfer of patients needing specialist surgery between hospitals even harder.
A journalist in central Gaza told CNN that Israeli artillery shelling “did not stop” on Saturday. Video filmed by Hassan Eslayeh showed ambulances and cars arriving at the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, with crowds of people waiting outside the hospital entrance. Another video showed a young man lying on the floor of the hospital as doctors operated on him.
Eslayeh said the injured and dead being brought to the hospital were casualties of artillery shelling rather than airstrikes.
Families unable to speak: CNN’s producer in Gaza, Ibrahim Dahman, said he is struggling to contact relatives in the enclave in the face of the blackout.
“I cannot reach them, and I don’t know anything about them,” Dahman said in one of several short voice recordings sent to CNN colleagues on Saturday using a phone with a foreign SIM card, which allows him intermittent connection via WhatsApp.
“Even if they were subjected to shelling, or to be killed or wounded, I wouldn’t know anything,” he said.
Since fleeing Gaza City with his wife and children on October 9, Dahman has been using WhatsApp to communicate with friends, family and colleagues.
Now he says “there is no internet throughout the whole of the Gaza Strip” – another cause for concern for him and the other families he is sheltering alongside in the southern city of Khan Younis.
“Everybody is gloomy, everybody is scared. … This is a big, big shock to everyone,” Dahman said.
Jawwal and Ooredoo, two mobile phone companies operating in Gaza, and Paltel, a fixed-line operator, said in separate statements Saturday that their services in the strip remained down.
Israeli ground forces are inside Gaza after entering the enclave overnight, according to the Israel Defense Forces. A ground offensive has been widely expected since Hamas' October 7 attacks in Israel, but it does not appear any major operation aimed at seizing and holding significant amounts of the territory is yet underway.
Families of the more than 200 hostages in Gaza are growing increasingly fearful for their missing loved ones as Israel steps up its operations in the enclave.
Communications in Gaza were partially restored on Sunday morning, according to two service providers and a monitoring group.
Palestine Telecommunications (Paltel) announced in a post on its Facebook page that land line, cellular and internet connectivity were gradually being restored after being severely disrupted on Friday evening.
“Despite the seriousness of the field situation, our technical teams were and are still doing everything in their power to repair as much damage as possible to the network, as much as possible and within the available capabilities,” Paltel said in its statement Sunday.
The Jawwal Telecommunication Company also announced Sunday that its telecommunication services were "gradually being restored."
In a separate update posted on X (formerly Twitter), the internet monitoring organization NetBlocks said that internet traffic was being restored in Gaza.
“Confirmed: Real-time network data show that internet connectivity is being restored in the #Gaza Strip; service was disrupted on Friday amid heavy bombardment by Israel, leaving most residents cut off from the outside world at a critical moment,” the message said.
Qatari-owned telecommunications company Ooredoo, which also provides cellular service in Gaza, did not provide an update on any resumption of service.
The expanded operation has left families of the more than 200 hostages taken to Gaza fearful for their loved ones. A group lobbying for the families of Israeli hostages spoke of “the most terrible of all nights” as emotions spiked with the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) expansion of its ground operation.
Israel's goals in this stage: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Saturday the war in Gaza is "going to be long." He said the goals of this stage of the war are to destroy Hamas and return the hostages the militant group took on October 7 and still holds in Gaza. Netanyahu confirmed he spoke with family members of the hostages and said he vowed to them that he would exhaust all options to return their loved ones home.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement his country had entered “a new phase in the war.” The official said Israel "attacked above ground and below ground. We attacked terrorist operatives at all levels, in all places. The instructions to our forces are clear: the operation will continue until a new order is given.”
Details on the expanded ground operation: Israeli forces “went into the Gaza Strip and expanded the ground operation where infantry, armor and engineer units and artillery with heavy fire are taking part,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Saturday morning. “The forces are in the field and continue the fighting,” he added, without giving further details.
Hagari’s words confirm the military operation has undergone a significant expansion after what it had earlier described as two “targeted raids,” which took place on Wednesday night and Thursday night. Both those raids saw ground forces withdraw after a few hours. However, it does not appear as though any major ground offensive aimed at seizing and holding significant amounts of the territory is yet underway. In a fresh call for Gazans to move south, the IDF spoke of an “impending” operation.
Mourning in Gaza: Gazans mourned the loss of their loved ones on Saturday following a night of intense Israeli airstrikes, with many gathering at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah in central Gaza. Video captured by CNN shows multiple bodies, including those of children, covered in white shrouds or thick blankets, placed on the ground in the hospital yard. Another video showed a young man lying on the floor of the hospital as doctors operated on him.
More than 2 million people live in the enclave, and for weeks people in the territory have faced Israeli airstrikes and a growing humanitarian situation, with shortages of water, food and fuel. The IDF said Gazans who had moved south of Wadi Gaza, a waterway bisecting the center of the strip, were in a “protected space,” and would receive more food, water and medicine today, but did not give any details.
Aid agencies lose contact: Communications in the enclave have been severely disrupted, leaving aid agencies out of touch with their staff on the ground and emergency services struggling to reach those in need. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday morning that reports of the intense bombardment are “extremely distressing.” He added: “We are still out of touch with our staff and health facilities. I’m worried about their safety.” Several United Nations agencies have also reported losing contact with their local staff in Gaza.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for an immediate de-escalation of hostilities in Gaza and delivery of humanitarian aid.
"It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza amid the massive bombardments, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible. This is a catastrophic failing that the world must not tolerate," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement Saturday.
Spoljaric added that the “immediate imperative must be to save lives” by ensuring healthcare services, water, and electricity are restored in Gaza.
“Under international humanitarian law, the parties are obligated to spare civilians from the effects of military operations at all times, to distinguish between civilians and military targets, and to never use human shields to prevent military objectives from being attacked,” Spoljaric said.
The ICRC also called for the “immediate release of all hostages” and reiterated the organization’s previous offer to facilitate any future hostage release operation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday drew a connection between the conflict with Hamas and the Arab-Israeli War between 1947 and 1949, which occurred as Israel declared its independence.
“The war inside Gaza is going to be long. This is our second independence war. We're going to save our country,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu said the second stage of the war against Hamas has begun, with the goal of destroying the group's armed wing and government, and returning hostages held in Gaza home.
“Our heroic fighters have one goal: To destroy this enemy and to make sure the existence of our country. Never again. 'Never again,' is now,” Netanyahu said during a news conference Saturday.
Netanyahu also confirmed he spoke with the family of hostages held by Hamas and vowed to them that he would exhaust all options to return their loved ones.
Families of hostages held in Gaza say they told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu they would only accept an "everyone in return for everyone" deal, which would secure the immediate release of all hostages.
The families held a news conference shortly after meeting Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Saturday, just before the prime minister held his own media briefing, where he announced the launch of the second stage of the war in Gaza.
"We spoke bluntly and made it clear to the prime minister in no uncertain terms that a comprehensive deal based on the 'everyone for everyone' principle is a deal the families would consider, and has the support of all of Israel," Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of Romi Gonen, said on behalf of the families.
An "everyone for everyone" deal would involve the release of the over 200 hostages in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians currently held in Israeli prisons, which the nongovernmental organization Palestinian Prisoners Club estimates to be 6,630 people.
Hamas released a statement Saturday claiming the group was willing to engage in such a trade, though any such deal would be hugely controversial in Israel.
Speaking Saturday, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari characterized Hamas' most recent hostage exchange overture a form of "psychological terror aimed to manipulate Israeli civilians."
Netanyahu was asked about such a deal at his Saturday news conference, and acknowledged he discussed the option with the families.
"I think that elaborating on this will not help achieve our goal. In the meeting with the families, I felt emotionally helpless," Netanyahu said.
As the efforts to free the hostages drag on, loved ones have also expressed alarm at the possibility Hamas' captives will be harmed in Israel's intensifying bombardment of Gaza.
"We came with an unequivocal demand that military action takes into account the fate of the hostages and missing, and that any move considered will take into account the well-being of our loved ones," Gonen said on behalf of the families.
Israel vowed to fight Elon Musk’s pledge to provide aid organizations in Gaza with Starlink satellite service as the besieged strip struggles with internet connectivity.
Israeli Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Hamas "will use it for terrorist activities."
"Perhaps Musk would be willing to condition it with the release of our abducted babies, sons, daughters, elderly people. All of them! By then, my office will cut any ties with starlink,” Karhi posted.
Musk made the announcement on X, which he owns, after US Democratic Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that “cutting off all communication to a population of 2.2 million is unacceptable.”
“Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza,” Musk said in a post replying to Ocasio-Cortez.
In another post replying to another X account, Musk said, “No terminals from Gaza have attempted to communicate with our constellation.”
Communications in the Gaza Strip have been severely disrupted as Israel intensifies its air and ground assault on the region. Aid groups say they have been unable to communicate with teams in the area.
Earlier, the World Health Organization said they are “out of touch” with its staff in Gaza and the commissioner general of the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees wrote to staff on Saturday saying that the organization is “deeply worried” about them amid the blackout.
Israel’s military chief said today marks a new stage in the country's war against Hamas, and that it requires a ground offensive.
“This is a war with multiple stages. Today, we move to the next one,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said in a video released by the IDF. “Our forces are currently operating on the ground in the Gaza Strip. These activities are being supported by precise and heavy fire, all in service of the war's objectives: dismantling Hamas, securing our borders and the supreme effort to return the hostages home.”
“The objectives of this war require a ground operation,” Halevi added, saying, “In order to expose and destroy the enemy there is no other way than to enter its territory with force.”
More context: A ground offensive in Gaza has been widely expected following the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas, but it does not appear as though any major operation aimed at seizing and holding significant amounts of the territory is yet underway.
On the ground: Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday that it had struck several Hamas targets in Gaza as part of its expanded ground operation in the strip.
“Since early Friday evening, combined combat forces of armor, combat engineers and infantry have been operating on the ground in the northern Gaza Strip. As part of the operation, IDF soldiers identified terrorist cells attempting to launch anti-tank missiles and mortar shells and struck them. IDF soldiers also identified and destroyed a booby-trapped structure,” the IDF said in a release.
The IDF said that helicopters, under the direction of IDF tanks, struck a building being used by Hamas as an operational meeting point.
The military also said that Israeli soldiers “neutralized” several terrorist cells that attempted to fire anti-tank missiles at them. Forces also struck Hamas members who were located in what was described as a “booby-trapped structure.”
A near total communications blackout has impacted the work of medical staff in Gaza, with paramedics unable to reach the injured and hospitals unable to contact each other.
Dr. Mohamad Al-Rayan, a physician at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, said medics have faced delays in getting to people injured by Israeli airstrikes overnight.
“Paramedics could not reach (the injured), because they had no communication with them. There were a few solutions to the problem, but the situation was very difficult and dangerous. The injured arrived at the hospital many hours later, (as) we could not reach them in a fast and direct manner,” he said.
He told CNN that hospitals in Gaza had also lost contact with one another, making the transfer of patients needing specialist surgery between hospitals even harder.
A journalist in central Gaza told CNN that Israeli artillery shelling “did not stop” on Saturday. Video filmed by Hassan Eslayeh showed ambulances and cars arriving at the Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, with crowds of people waiting outside the hospital entrance. Another video showed a young man lying on the floor of the hospital as doctors operated on him.
Eslayeh said the injured and dead being brought to the hospital were casualties of artillery shelling rather than airstrikes.
Families unable to speak: CNN’s producer in Gaza, Ibrahim Dahman, said he is struggling to contact relatives in the enclave in the face of the blackout.
“I cannot reach them, and I don’t know anything about them,” Dahman said in one of several short voice recordings sent to CNN colleagues on Saturday using a phone with a foreign SIM card, which allows him intermittent connection via WhatsApp.
“Even if they were subjected to shelling, or to be killed or wounded, I wouldn’t know anything,” he said.
Since fleeing Gaza City with his wife and children on October 9, Dahman has been using WhatsApp to communicate with friends, family and colleagues.
Now he says “there is no internet throughout the whole of the Gaza Strip” – another cause for concern for him and the other families he is sheltering alongside in the southern city of Khan Younis.
“Everybody is gloomy, everybody is scared. … This is a big, big shock to everyone,” Dahman said.
Jawwal and Ooredoo, two mobile phone companies operating in Gaza, and Paltel, a fixed-line operator, said in separate statements Saturday that their services in the strip remained down.
