- By Radha Basnet
- Sat, 16 Dec 2023 04:14 PM (IST)
- Source:PTI
Amid ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the prolonged communications blackout that disrupted telephone and internet connections compounded the misery in the besieged Gaza Strip on Saturday where a United Nations agency said hunger levels had spiralled in recent days.
According to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, phone and internet service went down on Thursday night and remained unavailable till Saturday morning which prevented aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel's war against Hamas, the leading militant group in Gaza, entered its eleventh week.
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"The internet blackout is ongoing, and based on our records it is the longest such incident" in the over-two-month war, said Alp Toker, the group's director, as quoted by the news agency Associated Press.
The closest ally of Israel, the United States, has voiced concerns about Israel's inability to lower civilian deaths and its intentions for Gaza, but the White House still fully supports Israel with arms transfers and diplomatic support. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli authorities on Thursday and Friday to discuss a timetable for winding down the intense combat phase of the war.
The US has pushed Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, and the government said it would open a second entry point to speed up deliveries. Israel's offensive has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Thursday before the communications blackout
The unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 set off the offensive, which has destroyed most of northern Gaza and forced 85 per cent of the 2.3 million people living there from their homes. In their October 7 attack, Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians, and took more than 240 hostages.
(With Agencies Inputs)