Gaza: Israel isolates 800,000 Palestinians after cutting off communications, displacing more than 40,000 in two days

The human rights observatory added in a brief statement that "the ongoing Israeli bombardment and the destruction of residential towers and communications infrastructure have led to a complete blackout in Gaza City after Israel cut off the entire internet."

He explained that by cutting off communications, Israel has "isolated approximately 800,000 Palestinians from the outside world amidst an escalating genocide."

Earlier on Wednesday, the Palestinian Telecommunications Company announced a disruption to fixed-line internet and landline services in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression.

The continued outage of communications and internet services coincides with the sighting of new Israeli military vehicles in the northwestern neighborhoods of Gaza City, a day after the Israeli military announced the launch of a large-scale ground operation in the city, as part of Operation Gideon 2.

40,000 displaced in two days

The United Nations announced that the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza have resulted in the forced displacement of more than 40,000 people over the past two days.

Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said in his daily press conference that the situation in Gaza is deteriorating by the hour, noting that the Israeli occupation army has issued new orders for the forced evacuation of residents within the next 48 hours.

"Thousands of people are trying to flee amid the ongoing fighting. As you can imagine, the roads are crowded, people are hungry, and children are suffering from psychological trauma," Dujarric added.

He confirmed that UN field partners monitoring population movements observed the displacement of approximately 40,000 people south on Monday and Tuesday. He noted that since mid-August, approximately 200,000 people, most of them women, children, and the elderly, have been forced to walk long hours to flee their areas.

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Dujarric also pointed to the United Nations Population Fund's warning that Israeli attacks are forcing women to give birth in the streets without hospitals, doctors, or clean water, adding, "The Fund estimates that 23,000 women in Gaza are deprived of necessary care, and that approximately 15 babies are born every week without receiving any medical assistance."

During Operation "Gideon 1," which ran from May 16 to August 6, Israeli forces were stationed inside the northern Gaza Strip governorate and on the northern outskirts of the city, in addition to the eastern neighborhoods (Shuja'iyya, al-Tuffah, and al-Zaytoun).

As Israeli operations intensified in Gaza's eastern neighborhoods, Palestinians were forced to flee under heavy fire and crowd into the city's western neighborhoods, which subsequently witnessed extensive and intensive bombardment to force them to flee to the southern part of the Strip.

Over the past few hours, Israeli vehicles have advanced toward the northwestern areas, reaching the "rocket" area at the end of Al-Jalaa Street (north) and the Mukhabarat and Al-Karamah areas (northwest), amid Palestinian fears of reaching the densely populated areas.

Eyewitnesses reported that the Israeli army carried out bombing operations against residential buildings in neighborhoods northwest of Gaza City, and indicated that artillery shells fell on the area.

Last Saturday, the government media office in Gaza said that Israel had completely or severely destroyed more than 3,600 buildings and towers in Gaza City since the start of its latest aggression on the city on August 11, as part of a plan to completely occupy it.

On August 8, the Israeli government approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, starting with Gaza City. For weeks, the Israeli army has been intensifying its bombing of residential towers and buildings in the city, a policy aimed at forcing Palestinians to flee to areas south of the Strip.

With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving 65,062 Palestinians dead and 165,697 injured, most of them children and women, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 428 Palestinians, including 146 children.