Humanitarian agencies reported Saturday that communications blackouts in Gaza were preventing them from helping civilians in need of aid as the Israel-Hamas war intensifies.
“Gaza: UN programmes & agencies have lost contact with staff on the ground,” said an X post from the United Nations. “Humanitarians & health services need telecommunications to provide life-saving assistance. Civilians & civilian infrastructure must always be protected, including humanitarian & medical workers & assets.”
After the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas conducted an Oct. 7 attack that killed an estimated 1,400 people, per the Israeli government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war. Since then, Israel has been conducting airstrikes on Gaza with the goal of eliminating Hamas, an organization that receives funding from Iran.
However, CBS News reported that 2.3 million people are still trapped inside Gaza. More than 1 million people have been displaced from their homes and there are limited options for evacuation. U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to support Israel but stressed that Palestinian civilians are not responsible for the attacks.
“The stream of injured being rushed to Gaza’s hospitals after airstrikes continues. Many of the victims are young children, even babies,” said CBS. Amid the chaos, CNN said the Palestinian Water Authority reported that a second water line carrying water from Israel to Gaza was turned on Saturday.
As communication disruptions have made it difficult for humanitarian operations to reach civilians, groups have been calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.
“Palestinian civilians are already besieged in the occupied Gaza Strip and are now also trapped in a complete communications blackout, with data from internet monitoring networks reporting signals rapidly failing as air and ground strikes reportedly intensify, in particular in the northern and central part of the Strip,” said Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns Erika Guevara-Rosas of Amnesty International Friday. “We call on Israel to put an immediate end to indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks which have already killed and harmed so many civilians, including over 3,000 children. Internet and telecommunications infrastructure must also be restored as a matter of urgency, to allow rescue operations amidst Israeli pounding airstrikes and expanding ground operations.”
“Reports of intense bombardment in Gaza are extremely distressing. Evacuation of patients is not possible under such circumstances, nor to find safe shelter,” said Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the World Health Organization. “The blackout is also making it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured. We are still out of touch with our staff and health facilities. I’m worried about their safety @WHO appeals to all those who have the power to push for a ceasefire to act NOW.”
“I reiterate my appeal or an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, unconditional release of hostages & delivery of relief at a level corresponding to the dramatic needs of the people in Gaza, where a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in front of our eyes,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
This week Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, criticized Guterres for comments he made about Palestinians. Guterres said that “they have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.”
Erdan said the comments were “shocking” and “completely disconnected from the reality.”
In the U.S., the group Jewish Voices for Peace has also called for a ceasefire.
“We feel visceral relief at the reunions of four Israeli hostages with their families. It reminds us what we are fighting for: That every single civilian – Palestinian and Israeli – should be able to live safely in their homes, with their families by their sides, without fear. May this be a model for the preservation, through diplomacy, of each and every precious life right now,” said the group, which held a demonstration Friday at Grand Central Station in New York. “The only way forward is a ceasefire.”
Israeli officials said this week that Hamas is using hospitals for their headquarters and the group is draining supplies from civilians.
“Hamas-ISIS is sick. They turn hospitals into headquarters for their terror. We just released intelligence proving it,” said Netanyahu.
As of Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces said that their “best soldiers” were operating in Gaza and that blame for the situation in Gaza should fall to Hamas.
“For your immediate safety, we urge all residents of northern Gaza, and Gaza City, to temporarily relocate south,” said a video message from the Israeli Defense Forces Saturday.
The Israeli military announced Friday that it would expand ground operations in Gaza. According to CNN, families of Israeli hostages held by Hamas were concerned that the expanded warfare could put their loved ones in increased danger. Chief of the General Staff of the IDF Herzi Halevi said the forces “will do everything in order to succeed,” in bringing the hostages home.
“In order to expose and destroy the enemy, there is no other way than to enter its territory with force,” said Halevi. He said Israeli forces are also ready to fight Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist group funded by Iran.