Internet service cut off in southern Gaza: Palestinian telecom company

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Internet service has been cut off in the southern Gaza Strip, the Palestinian telecom company Paltel said on Sunday.

In a statement, the company said the service was disrupted by the ongoing Israeli offensive in the area.

“Our crews are working hard to restore the service as quickly as possible,” it added.

The Gaza Strip has faced several communications and internet outages amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the enclave that left nearly 35,000 dead since last October following a Hamas attack that killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

South Africa on Friday asked the ICJ to order Israel to withdraw from the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1.5 million displaced people have been sheltered, as part of additional emergency measures over the war.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi