Gaza City, Gaza - Israel's army relentlessly hammered Gaza on Saturday after plunging it into a complete communications blackout, in a night of brutal bombardment that rescuers said destroyed hundreds of buildings.

The Gaza health ministry said Friday that Israeli assaults had killed 7,326 people, more than 3,000 of them children.

The latest Israeli raids were one of the most intense nights of attacks since the war began on October 7, in response to a deadly Hamas attack that killed over 1,400 people.

With tens of thousands of troops massed along the Gaza border ahead of an expected full-blown invasion, Israeli forces had also made limited ground incursions on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Day for May 13, 2024: Get your funny on

"Hundreds of buildings and houses were completely destroyed and thousands of other homes were damaged," said Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal.

The intense bombardment had "changed the landscape" of northern Gaza, he told AFP.

Israeli warplanes flew overhead on Saturday and regular concussive booms could be heard coming from Gaza, where many buildings lay in ruins, AFP journalists saw. A thick haze of smoke covered the strip and southern Israel after the night of heavy bombardment.

"There are a large number of martyrs and a large number of survivors under the rubble, and we cannot reach them," a Gaza civil defense official said.

In a bombed-out street in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, 50-year-old Om Walid Basal said her apartment block had been destroyed by Israel.

"This was our house. We lived here just with our children," she said. "Why are they bombing us? Why are they destroying our homes?"

The situation is all the more dire since all internet connections and communications across Gaza had been cut.

Human Rights Watch also warned the near-total telecommunications blackout in Gaza risked providing cover for "mass atrocities".

The Palestinian Red Crescent said the communications outage had disrupted ambulance services.

Lynne Hastings, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, also stressed on X that "hospitals & humanitarian operations can't continue without communications".

The families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas demanded on Saturday an immediate government explanation about their fate after the army intensified strikes on Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents some 229 people believed abducted by Hamas, said the war cabinet failed to explain to relatives whether the ground operation endangered the captives' well-being.

"The families are worried about the fate of their loved ones and are waiting for an explanation. Every minute feels like eternity," the group said.

On Thursday, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said "almost 50" hostages had been killed in Israeli bombing raids since October 7. AFP could not immediately verify the figure.