Outcome of Israel's ground war on Gaza will be humanitarian catastrophe: Jordan Foreign Minister

AMMAN: Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi said that Israel just launched a ground war on Gaza and stressed that its outcome will be a "humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions for years to come".

Taking to X, Safadi stated, "Israel just launched a ground war on Gaza. Outcome will be a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions for years to come. Voting against Arab #UNGA resolution means approving this senseless war, this senseless killing. Millions will be watching every vote. History will judge."

Ayman Safadi's remarks come after Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military has ramped up airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in the past few hours and will expand activity tonight, The Times of Israel reported.

He said, "The Air Force is striking underground targets very significantly," adding that ground forces will "expand" their activity tonight.

For the past two days, IDF infantry forces and tanks have carried out limited raids into the Gaza Strip.

According to Hagari, the IDF will continue to strike Gaza City and surrounding regions in northern Gaza. He renewed his call for Palestinians to relocate to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, according to The Times of Israel report. Hagari said, "We are prepared to defend in all arenas. We are acting in order to protect the security interests of the State of Israel."

Israeli tanks assumed positions within the Gaza Strip late on Friday, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing Palestinian media.

NetStream, a primary internet provider in the Gaza Strip, has stopped providing services, the global internet monitor NetBlocks announced in a post shared on X, The Jerusalem Post reported.

In a post shared on X, NetBlocks wrote, "Confirmed: Real-time network data show that NetStream, one of the last remaining internet providers in Gaza, has collapsed days after the operator notified subscribers that service would end due to a severe shortage of fuel supplies."

The chart posted by the internet monitor shows network connectivity in Palestine started to rapidly deteriorate on October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, according to The Jerusalem Post report.

Palestinian mobile phone service provider Jawwal said that services, including phone and internet, had been cut by heavy bombardment, The Jerusalem Post reported.

Palestine Red Crescent Society in a statement said it had completely lost contact with its operations room in Gaza and all its teams operating on the ground. Palestine Red Crescent in a statement said, "We are deeply concerned about the ability of our teams to continue providing their emergency medical services, especially since this disruption affects the central emergency number '101' and hinders the arrival of ambulance vehicles to the wounded and injured," CNN reported.