Israel increased the intensity of its shelling of the beleaguered Gaza Strip as internet and mobile communications infrastructure in the Palestinian territories were cut down.
On Friday night, a series of lengthy, loud explosions illuminated the sky over Gaza City after sunset.
Artillery and airstrikes were pounding northern Gaza, according to Al Jazeera.
Reporters have not been able to reach newsrooms, and there are worries that Israel would use this blackout to carry out further war crimes against a population that won't be able to contact outside sources for assistance or information.
Israel thinks there are tunnels of this kind beneath the Shifa Hospital, a vital lifeline for Palestinians in northern Gaza and a sanctuary for more than 5,000 internally displaced persons.
Anadolu Agency reports that on Friday, Hamas, a Palestinian organization, denied Israeli charges that it is using a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip for military purposes.
According to Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas Political Bureau, Israel has made false claims regarding Al-Shifa Hospital.
In a statement, he also issued a warning, saying that these charges pave the way for an assault on a hospital that cares for thousands of injured patients and houses more than 40,000 displaced people.
"The United Nations and Arab and Islamic countries should intervene immediately to stop the bombing and destruction of the medical system in Gaza," Rishq stated in his statement.
On its social media channels, it posts a video that claims to show how Hamas has built an underground metropolis beneath the hospital, but it provides no proof.
But this has made analysts wonder if Israel is getting ready to assault Al-Shifa Hospital, whose administration was advised to evacuate the facility earlier this week.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society reports that contact has completely stopped between all of its field workers and its operations center located in Gaza.
Israel increased its bombings "in a very significant way" while its ground forces were "expanding their activity" in Gaza, according to Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
As Israeli bombardment on the Gaza Strip grew more intense on Friday night, he gave the order for residents of Gaza City to go south.
Al Jazeera reported from Gaza City that they simultaneously heard powerful artillery bursts and intensive airstrikes. This was unexpected and indicated that the fire was considerably stronger than it had been in the previous days.
International media, meanwhile, claimed that negotiations between Qatar, acting as a mediator, and Israel on a cease-fire and prisoner swap arrangement are "progressing and at an advanced stage."
Israel has promised to carry out further incursions into Palestinian territory, and since October 7, at least 7,326 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli assaults. The attack on Israel by Hamas claimed the lives of almost 1,400 people.