UPDATE - All communications services in Gaza will come to halt by Thursday, warns Palestinian minister

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER, ADDS COMMENTS FROM CEO OF PALESTINIAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS GROUP

By Anadolu staff

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

During a press conference, the minister said that the lack of communications services will “deepen the humanitarian disaster,” according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

This will affect communications among the Civil Defense, the Red Crescent, and other humanitarian organizations, he added, noting that “this means the loss of many lives.”

Calling “these actions violation of international law,” Sidr urged “all international institutions, the International Telecommunication Union in particular, UNRWA, the Arab Red Crescent, the Red Cross, human rights bodies, and civil society organizations to intervene immediately in order to bring fuel to the Gaza Strip.”

Sidr said that approximately 65% of communication lines have been targeted in the ongoing conflict.

Meanwhile, Abdel Majeed Melhem, the CEO of the Palestinian Telecommunications Group, told Anadolu that communication companies' exchanges and towers in Gaza operate through various energy sources.

“The primary energy source, a direct electrical power line from the Gaza Electricity Company which has been inactive for a month due to fuel depletion, is supplemented by solar energy in case of its interruption,” Melhem said.

“In case solar power services fail, an automatic switch to a fuel tank-connected electric generator will occur. If these options deplete, an automatic switch to energy storage batteries (UPS) will take place,” he added.

“By next Wednesday, we expect the automatic activation of energy storage batteries in the communication stations and exchanges in Gaza, which have sufficient energy for 24 hours, following the exhaustion of other energy options,” he said.