RAFAH, Gaza Strip (NEWSnet/AP) — A prolonged communications blackout compounded the misery Saturday in Gaza Strip, where a United Nations agency said hunger level has spiraled in recent days.
Internet and telephone lines lost connection late Thursday and still were inaccessible Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org. It hampered delivery of aid and efforts for rescue as the Israel-Hamas war stretched into the 11th week.
The blackout is the longest in the over-two month war, said Alp Toker, the group’s director. United Nations’ humanitarian affairs department said communications with Gaza were “severely disrupted” due to damage to telecommunication lines in the south.
“I cannot stress enough the dire consequences of this communications blackout on our ability to provide essential humanitarian aid,” Fikr Shalltoot, director of the Medical Aid for Palestinians group in Gaza, told The Associated Press from Egypt, where she is based. “We cannot communicate with our partners to deliver vital health services. We are unable to even check in with our colleagues, most of whom have been displaced from their homes and lost loved ones.”
On Friday, Israel's troops mistakenly shot and killed three Israeli hostages in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah. On Saturday, a military officials said the hostageshad been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed.
Residents in northern Gaza reported heavy bombing and the sound of gun battles overnight and into Saturday in Gaza City and the nearby urban refugee camp of Jabaliya.
U.N.’s World Food Program reported a surge from 38% to 56% in the number of displaced households experiencing severe levels of hunger in the space of under two weeks. In the north, where aid has been unable to enter, “households … are expected to face a catastrophic situation,” WFP said.
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