Telecom services gradually restored in central, southern Gaza Strip

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Telecommunications services partially returned to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after a blackout on Tuesday, said a telecom operator.

The Jawwal company said in a statement that phone and internet services were restored in areas in the central and southern Gaza Strip.

However, a blackout in communications services persists in the northern Gaza Strip due to the intense Israeli bombardment, coupled with the restricted movement of technical teams.

The company reported Tuesday a complete cut-off of communications and internet services in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes.

The latest outage is the eighth since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on Oct. 7.

Israel has launched a massive military campaign on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 20,915 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,918 others, according to local health authorities.

Israeli attacks have left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million people have been displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicines.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Oct. 7Hamas attack.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Ankara