The Israeli army intensified its air, artillery, and naval bombardment on the northern region of the Gaza Strip on Friday evening, amidst reports of Israeli tanks and armored vehicles preparing to move toward Gaza. The bombardment was described as the heaviest since the war began on October 7, although it remained unclear whether the attack was a precursor to an Israeli ground incursion into the territory. The Israeli army spokesman stated on Friday that Israeli air and ground forces are ramping up their operations. Admiral Daniel Hagari mentioned in a televised press conference, "In addition to the attacks carried out in recent days, the ground forces are expanding their operations tonight."
Israeli Prime Minister's adviser Regev commented, "When this is over, Gaza will be very different." In the first comments on the field developments, the Al-Qassam Brigades announced that they are countering an Israeli ground incursion in Beit Hanoun and eastern al-Breij, with fierce clashes occurring on the ground. Israel is sounding the drums for a ground assault on Gaza after weeks of continuous bombardment, but the United States and Arab countries have urged it to delay operations that could exacerbate civilian casualties in the densely populated coastal area and could widen the conflict.
Israeli media reported that Israel has completely cut off communications to the Gaza Strip, as the area currently faces intensive and "unprecedented" bombardments, according to the Israeli army. Most media outlets have lost contact with their correspondents in Gaza. The cybersecurity and internet outage monitoring site NetBlocks confirmed a complete service disruption in Gaza.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, stated that they targeted the Afshalom and Nir Yitzhak compound with a barrage of rockets. Israeli media reported that sirens have already sounded in settlements around Gaza. The number of casualties from the Israeli massacres in Gaza has risen to 7,326, including 2,913 children and 1,709 women and girls, with nearly 18,500 injured and about 1,650 missing, according to figures from Gaza's health department, which released a list of all the martyrs in response to Washington's skepticism regarding the casualty figures.
In response to Israel's threat to target the Al-Shifa Hospital, the United Nations stated, "Any attack on health facilities would be a violation of international humanitarian law."
