Gaza communications service to come to halt in coming hours, warns regulatory authority

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) — Communications services in Gaza will come to a total halt in the coming hours amid a severe fuel shortage, the Palestinian telecommunication regulatory authority warned Wednesday.

“The countdown has begun for the halt of all communications and internet services in the Gaza Strip,” Laith Daraghmeh, CEO of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, said in a statement.

He added that contacts were underway with international institutions “to ensure the entry of quantities of fuel necessary for the operation of the communications service.”

On Sunday, Palestinian Communications Minister Yitzhak Sidr warned that all communications and internet services will stop in the Gaza Strip by Thursday due to depleting fuel.

Israel has banned fuel shipments into the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 40th day, at least 11,320 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,800 women and children, and more than 29,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel's relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave since last month.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara