Israel pounds Gaza on 99th day of war

Israel pounded Gaza on Saturday as the Palestinian territory suffered under a dire humanitarian situation and grappled with a telecommunications blackout on the 99th day of the war.

Fears of the conflict widening have grown after US and British forces struck pro-Hamas Houthi rebels in Yemen following attacks on Red Sea shipping, with a fresh US air strike confirmed on Saturday.

Witnesses reported Israeli bombardment of Gaza in the early morning, and an AFP journalist said on Friday that strikes and shelling had hit areas between Gaza's southern cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah, crowded with people who have fled from the north.

All internet and telecommunications services in Gaza were cut on Friday as a result of Israeli bombardment, the main operator Paltel said.

"Gaza is blacked out again," it said in a post on social media platform X.

The Palestinian Red Crescent posted that the disruption was increasing the challenges in "reaching the wounded and injured promptly".

Israeli soldiers take up positions near the Gaza Strip border. AP

Israel's relentless bombardment of Gaza has killed at least 23,708 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest health ministry figures.

'Systematic' aid blocking

UN aid agency OCHA's head for the occupied Palestinian territories told the media on Friday that Israel was constantly blocking humanitarian aid convoys into northern Gaza.

"They have been very systematic in not allowing us to support hospitals, which is something that is reaching a point of a level of inhumanity that for me is beyond comprehension," Andrea De Domenico said.

In central Gaza, a lack of fuel forced the shutdown of the main generator of Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, the health ministry said.

"Does anyone care about us? Why is everyone silent?" asked one mourner at a hospital where a group of Palestinians had gathered beside white body bags holding the latest casualties.

But the war didn't stop Afnan and Moustapha from getting married in Rafah, near the border with Egypt.

Dr Suhaib Alhamss performs surgery at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Gaza's southern town of Rafah, on Thursday. AP

"The house where the groom was supposed to live was destroyed, and as the war persisted, we thought it best for them to get married," Ayman Shamlakh, the groom's uncle, told AFP.

"We are all living through the same tragedy. However, we must continue to live, and life should go on."

Mohamed Gebreel, father of the bride, said he had no doubts about going ahead with the ceremony.

"We are a people that love life despite death, murders and destruction," he said.