People in Gaza 'uncontactable' after 'network collapse' - reports

People in Gaza are currently 'uncontactable' via internet or mobile communications, reports this evening suggest.

Charities including the Palestinian Red Crescent say they cannot speak to their teams in the strip, while BBC reporters have also confirmed their WhatsApp messages have been left undelivered. The internet monitoring service Netblocks also posted on X to say there had been a 'collapse in connectivity'.

It comes after an escalation in conflict from Israeli forces, who have confirmed they are expanding their ground operations. BBC reports say Friday night (October 27) has seen 'intense' bombing in Gaza by the Israeli military from the air.

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In a post on X, the Palestinian Red Crescent 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'."

The BBC has asked the Israeli military to comment on the communications outage, have yet to receive a response.