Israel sent thousands of Palestinians back to besieged Gaza on Friday, pursuing a crackdown on workers and labourers from the territory who had previously been given permits to take jobs in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

A Palestinian Authority official said 4,950 Gaza residents had fled to the West Bank from Israel and some 5,000 were believed to have been detained by Israel.

Palestinians have limited self-rule in areas where they live in the West Bank, which is under Israel military occupation.

For those who remain in the West Bank, patchy Internet and phone connections have meant that news from home has been sporadic as the Israeli bombardment has continued.

Nidal Abu Jidian, a father of three who had been working as a road paver in Israel before seeking refuge in a community centre in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said he follows the news on his phone to try to learn about his family’s condition.

“I was on the phone with my uncle. He was shelled while I was talking to him. I was checking in on him and my children and he was killed. I heard the strike. The phone went dead.”