The United Nations announced on Friday that the death toll among its crews working in the Gaza Strip had risen to 53 individuals.
Lynn Hastings, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the Strip, said in an official statement, “The death toll among employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza has risen to 53.”
The United Nations previously issued a warning that “no place is safe” in the Gaza Strip amid intensifying Israeli air strikes in preparation for a widely expected ground attack.
“People are left with impossible choices,” said Lynn Hastings. “ There is no safe place in Gaza .”
What did the United States ask of Israel before the ground invasion?
ABC news reported, citing an American official, that the administration of President Joe Biden asked Israel to allow the United States to deploy its forces before Israel launched a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
The American official revealed that Washington also asked Tel Aviv to "deal better with the hostage issue and the humanitarian situation in Gaza," where cases of dysentery are being reported due to drinking contaminated water .
In addition, he said, the United States has told the Israelis that it remains “not convinced that they have a good plan for what they want to do in Gaza.”
The Palestinian "Jawwal" company announces a complete interruption of communications and the Internet with the Gaza Strip
The Palestinian cellular telecommunications company "Jawwal" announced a complete cessation of all communications and Internet services with the Gaza Strip and its isolation from the world, after intense Israeli attacks during the past hour.
The company published a statement on its Facebook account in which it said: “Dear people in our beloved homeland, we regret announcing a complete cessation of all communications and Internet services with the Gaza Strip in light of the ongoing aggression.”
The statement added: "The intense bombing in the last hour caused the destruction of all remaining international routes linking Gaza to the outside world, in addition to the routes previously destroyed during the aggression, which led to a complete interruption of communications services from the beloved Gaza Strip. May God protect you and protect our country."
The Gaza Strip continues to be subjected to massive and intense Israeli attacks over the course of two hours, as Israeli aircraft targeted several areas with massive raids accompanied by terrifying sounds.
According to our correspondent, Israeli aircraft and artillery continue to launch an intense and massive bombardment on several areas, and the bombing is mostly focused on the eastern areas of the Strip.