Gaza's internet was 'gradually' returning on Sunday, a telecom provider said.
Thousands of people have died and thousands more have been injured since the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.
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The latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, has passed the four-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 30,228 people have been killed and 71,377 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 395 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The ongoing war began after Hamas-led militants launched an unprecedented incursion into southern Israel from neighboring Gaza via land, sea and air. Scores of people were killed while more than 200 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Israeli military subsequently launched retaliatory airstrikes followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory where more than 2 million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas came to power in 2007. Gaza, unlike Israel, has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters.
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution calling for an "immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce" between Israel and Hamas.
The resolution also demands the "continuous, sufficient and unhindered" provision of supplies and services for civilians in Gaza, as Israel says it is expanding its ground operations in the territory.
The U.S. is "not drawing red lines for Israel" and is still in "active negotiations" to release hostages, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a virtual briefing Friday.
Asked whether the U.S. was given advance warning of the expanding ground incursion happening today, Kirby would not give any detail on conversations with the Israelis, but said President Joe Biden has been getting daily briefings from his national security team.
Pressed on whether the U.S. is confident that Israel has thought through what happens after the ground incursion, Kirby said it's up to the Israelis to answer questions about the "soundness of their planning and the effectiveness of the execution."
Kirby said Israel should support a humanitarian pause if it can allow for the release of hostages.
-ABC News' Selina Wang and Fritz Farrow
The Israel Defense Forces are expanding ground activity in Gaza Friday night, a military spokesperson told reporters.
This is Israel's biggest ground operation in Gaza since the Oct. 7 attack.
"In recent hours we have increased the attacks in Gaza," the IDF said in a statement. "The Air Force widely attacks underground targets and terrorist infrastructure, very significantly. In continuation of the offensive activity we carried out in the last few days, the ground forces are expanding the ground activity this evening."
All internet and communications services have been cut off in Gaza following a barrage of strikes, according to the Palestinian Telecommunications Company.
"The intense bombing in the last hour destroyed all remaining international routes linking Gaza to the world," the company said in a statement. "The severe bombing led to the interruption of all communications services in the Gaza Strip."
Palestinian scholar from Gaza talks about need for cease-fire
Jawal, a Palestinian mobile company, also said all communications and internet services have been interrupted due to the "intense bombing."
Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization, said it is unable to reach its teams due to the disruption in landline, cell and internet services.
"We are deeply concerned about the ability of our teams to continue providing their emergency medical services," the group said in a statement.
The World Health Organization said it has also lost touch with its staff in Gaza, with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus adding, "This siege makes me gravely concerned for their safety and the immediate health risks of vulnerable patients. We urge immediate protection of all civilians and full humanitarian access."
