The Israeli military carried out expansive airstrikes in Gaza on Sunday evening and ground troops completed their encirclement of Gaza City, slicing the enclave in two as telecommunication services to the Strip appeared to be cut again.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said during an evening press conference that the military was carrying out “widespread strikes on terror infrastructure, below ground and above it.”

An official with the Hamas terror group, which rules Gaza, said that “for more than an hour, intense bombings have been taking place around hospitals.”

The vicinity of the enclave’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, saw particularly heavy strikes, according to Salama Marouf, the head of the Hamas government’s media office. The hospital, Israel says, hosts the terror group’s main base of operations.

The Hamas claims could not be independently verified.

The increased intensity of the bombardment came after the IDF revealed new intelligence Sunday it said provided further evidence that Hamas terror group was using medical facilities in the Gaza Strip to shield terror activities.

“Hamas places forces and weapons inside, under and around schools, mosques, homes and UN facilities,” Hagari said, without confirming that Israel was targeting areas around hospitals.

As explosions and flares lit up the night sky, Gazans were once again plunged into a communications blackout, the third time phone and internet services have been cut since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza just over a week ago.

Source: The Times Of Israel