US says telecommunications among Gaza's 'vital needs' amid blackout

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Telecommunications are among the besieged Gaza Strip's "vital needs," the White House said Friday after all communications and internet services were cut off in the coastal enclave due to Israeli bombardment.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said "the need for information to flow" is among Gaza's "vital needs and concerns."

"We share those concerns, and we're working very, very hard to get that to get that in," he said, also referring to US efforts to facilitate deliveries of food and other humanitarian supplies to Gaza.

Earlier Friday, the Palestine Telecommunications Company, or PalTel, said communications and internet services in Gaza were completely cut off on Friday evening amid heavy Israeli bombing of feeder lines, towers and other critical infrastructure.

PalTel said in a statement that "landline, wireless and internet communications services were completely cut off amid intense Israeli bombing on the lines with the West Bank, and on the towers and networks."

The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Anadolu asking if Kirby's remarks represent Washington's disapproval of Israel's actions.

The comments come 20 days after Palestinian group Hamas launched a shock attack on Israel that killed over 1,400 Israelis, as over 200 more were taken back to Gaza as captives.

Israel retaliated by imposing a "complete siege" on Gaza that has halted supplies of food, water and medicine, as Israel carries out a relentless bombing campaign that has killed over 7,000 Palestinians, including more than 3,000 children, according to data from the enclave's Health Ministry.

The ministry sought to push back on Western criticism of its casualty figures on Thursday by releasing a detailed list of all those killed in Gaza, including their names, ages, and identification numbers.

Kirby reiterated US support for localized “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza, which fall short of the full ceasefire being demanded by many nations, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"We continue to push for additional aid to get in. As matter of fact, when we were talking about humanitarian pauses, we would support humanitarian pauses for stuff getting in, as well as for people getting out," said Kirby. "And that includes pushing for fuel to get in and for the restoration of electrical power."

Fuel is critical to running desalination plants and pumping stations for Gaza's water supplies, operating bakeries, and ensuring the lights remain on in the occupied territory's over-burdened hospitals where the injured are receiving treatment and the displaced continue to take shelter.

While some 84 trucks carrying humanitarian aid have crossed into Gaza since Oct. 7 -- a shadow of the roughy 500 that would have crossed per day before the war began -- Israel has continued to prevent deliveries of fuel. It maintains such deliveries will be diverted by Hamas for military use.

Kirby said "some fuel" has been "made available" to the UN, clarifying in later remarks that the fuel did not cross into Gaza, but was instead diverted from a commercial facility by the UN's Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA.

The agency has warned that its reserves of fuel are rapidly being exhausted, risking an end to its services in Gaza, which warned risks "unimaginable consequences" for Gaza's over 2 million inhabitants.

The fuel UNRWA received Friday represents just about what is needed to continue operations for one day, and UNRWA coordinated its action with Israel, Kirby said.