Phone lines and internet connections are slowly returning to Gaza Strip after more than a day of almost total communications blackout, reports BBC.
Connectivity was cut as Israel intensified its bombardment of the territory, and began a large ground operation involving tanks and troops.
Meanwhile, Israel's military has said troops are on the ground in Gaza - and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that commanders had been deployed in various places in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said this marks the "second stage" of what he says will be a "long and difficult" war with Hamas.
On the other hand, Hamas claimed clashes with Israeli troops at multiple locations inside Gaza.
The International Red Cross (ICRC) has called for an immediate halt to what it's described as the "intolerable level of human suffering" in the territory.
Bd-pratidin/Golam Rosul
