• The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,525, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza

CAIRO : Communication has again been cut in Gaza, two providers said early Wednesday. Paltel and Jawwal reported a “complete disruption” of communications and Internet services in Gaza, the second major cut in five days. Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza.

A deluge of Israeli airstrikes Tuesday on a refugee camp near Gaza City demolished apartment buildings, leaving gaping holes where they once stood, while ground troops battled Hamas militants across northern Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for a cease-fire. Though more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians have fled their homes, several hundred thousand remain in the north, where Israeli troops and tanks have reportedly advanced on multiple sides of Gaza City.

The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 8,525, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 122 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.

More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them civilians slain in the initial Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that started the fighting. In addition, around 240 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.

One of the captives, a female Israeli soldier, was rescued in a special forces operation.

In an email to The Associated Press, Internet-access advocacy group NetBlocks.org confirmed that Gaza “is in the midst of a total or near-total telecoms blackout consistent with” the weekend blackout.

Connectivity was previously cut from late Friday to early Sunday, coinciding with the entry of large numbers of ground troops into Gaza in what Israel at the time described as a new stage in the war. Attempts to reach Gaza residents by phone were unsuccessful early Wednesday.

AP