Communications blackout, Spiraling Hunger Compound Misery In Gaza Strip

December 16, 2023 4:08 am

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A prolonged communications blackout is compounding the misery in the besieged Gaza Strip where a United Nations agency says hunger levels have spiraled. An internet access advocacy group said Saturday that internet and telephone lines are still inaccessible two days after they went down. The two-month war has seen more than 85% of Gaza’s roughly 2.3 million people displaced, with most cramming into the southern part of the territory after Israel ordered the northern section evacuated. With only a trickle of aid able to enter, the U.N.’s World Food Program reported a surge from 38% to 56% in the number of displaced households experiencing severe levels of hunger in under two weeks.