Israeli forces struck Gaza late Friday into early Saturday as the war against Hamas militants neared 100 days.

Agence France-Presse quoted witnesses as saying Israeli shelling Friday had hit areas between Gaza’s southern cities of Khan Yunis and Rafah. The main internet provider in Gaza said all internet and telecommunications services were cut Friday as a result of the Israeli bombardment.

The Israeli military said its forces killed three militants who attacked a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank Friday. In a statement, the military said the militants infiltrated the Adora settlement, some 20 kilometres west of Hebron City. The military said soldiers had come under fire during a search of the area.

Andrea De Domenico, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories said Friday that Israel has been “very systematic in not allowing us to support hospitals, which is something that is reaching a level of inhumanity that, for me, is beyond comprehension.”

Gaza Strip telecom provider Paltel reported Friday that fighting in the enclave has caused all communications services to be cut across the territory.

From its official X social media account, formerly Twitter, Paltel said cellular, landline, and internet services across Gaza were cut “due to the ongoing aggression.” The Hamas-controlled territory has seen repeated telecommunications blackouts in the past 100 days because of the fighting and the lack of fuel for electricity.

The United Nations expressed concern about new evacuation orders issued Thursday in southern Gaza by the Israeli military. The Office of Humanitarian Affairs says the residents in a 4.6-square-kilometer area in Al Mawasi and several blocks near Salah Ad Deen Road have been told to move to Deir al Balah, where the Israel Defense Forces continue to conduct airstrikes.

“More than 18,000 people and nine shelters, accommodating an unknown number of internally displaced people, are expected to be affected by this latest round of orders,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Friday.

A journalist for Agence France-Presse reported that strikes and artillery shelling had hit areas between the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, which is crowded with people who fled from the north.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported Friday that about 151 Palestinians had been killed and 248 more wounded in Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours. In a statement, the ministry said at least 23,708 people — two-thirds of them women and children — have been killed since the conflict started.

Forced displacement concerns

The October 7 Hamas terror attack inside southern Israel triggered the war. Fighters killed 1,200 people and kidnapped about 240 others. Since then, Israel has told Palestinians in northern Gaza to move south as it launched a ground invasion to decapitate Hamas, which is an EU- and U.S.-designated terror group.

The United Nations has said 1.9 million people — nearly 85% of Gaza’s population — are now crammed into an ever-shrinking area in the central and southern Gaza Strip and living in horrific conditions. Food, clean water, medical supplies, and even toilets are in short supply. Malnutrition is rising, and humanitarians cannot get adequate aid supplies into Gaza.

“Providing humanitarian assistance across Gaza is almost impossible,” U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told a Security Council meeting Friday.

He and other U.N. officials are also concerned about statements from some Israeli political figures urging the mass transfer of Palestinians from Gaza to third countries.

“These statements raise grave concerns about the possible forcible mass transfer or deportation of the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip, something that would be strictly prohibited, of course, under international law,” Griffiths said.

The head of the U.N. Human Rights New York office told the meeting that Israel’s evacuation orders failed “to meet the necessary conditions for lawfulness, therefore potentially amount to forcible transfer — a war crime.”

Ilze Brands Kehris said Palestinians must have an “ironclad guarantee” that they will be able to return home. She underscored that Israel, as the occupying power, must support their return by restoring essential services and facilitating the necessary reconstruction of Gaza.

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. was also clear that civilians must not be forced to leave Gaza “under any circumstances.” Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington rejects statements by Israeli ministers and lawmakers calling for their resettlement outside Gaza.

“These statements, along with statements by Israeli officials calling for the mistreatment of Palestinian detainees or the destruction of Gaza, are irresponsible, inflammatory and only make it harder to secure a lasting peace,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

VOA Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report from the United Nations. Some information came from Agence France-Presse.