Amid telecommunications blackout, UNRWA says it lost contact with staff in Gaza

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Thursday it had lost all contact with its staff in Gaza, following a total communications blackout in the besieged enclave, Anadolu agency reported.

On X, the agency wrote: “We have lost all contact with our UNRWA colleagues in Gaza, communications have been cut off.”

“This morning, for the first time in months, we did not receive their morning messages to say, ‘good morning’ and ‘we are fine/alive’,” the UNRWA said. “We anxiously await to hear from our colleagues.”

The situation adds to growing concern over the safety of humanitarian workers and the impact of repeated communications blackouts on life-saving operations in Gaza.

Internet and phone services collapsed across the Gaza Strip on Thursday following Israeli strikes on telecommunications infrastructure, the Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said.

In a statement, the authority said Gaza’s digital isolation had deepened due to Israel’s “systematic targeting” of telecom infrastructure, despite repeated attempts to repair damaged and alternative routes over a prolonged period.

It said that the southern and central areas of the territory had now joined Gaza City and the northern region in a total communications blackout for a second consecutive day.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 55,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.