WEB DESK
- Palestinian telecommunications company partially restores phone and internet services in Gaza after fuel shipments arrive
- Under U.S. pressure, Israel says it will allow a limited amount of fuel into Gaza for humanitarian purposes.
- Gaza is facing the “immediate possibility of starvation,” according to the World Food Program’s executive director.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has not been successful in minimizing civilian casualties.
- Israel warns Palestinians to leave four towns in southern Gaza, possibly presaging new attacks in the area.
- Israeli forces continue operations around Shifa Hospital.
Nearly 2.2 million need aid
Israel imposed a blockade on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip following the group’s October 7 terror attack that killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., U.K, EU and others.
Because of the fuel situation and communications blackout, the UNRWA was unable for a third consecutive day to run aid convoys into Gaza, where 2.2 million people – virtually the entire population – need humanitarian assistance.
“Our work has become mission impossible,” UNRWA Acting Deputy Commissioner-General Natalie Boucly told a meeting at U.N. headquarters about Gaza’s humanitarian situation.
World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain warned Thursday that civilians in Gaza face “the immediate possibility of starvation” because of the collapse in the food supply chain and fuel shortages. She urged Israel to open additional border crossings for humanitarian deliveries into Gaza.
Evacuation orders
Israel issued new warnings on Friday for Palestinians in the southern city of Khan Younis to relocate, indicating a possible expansion of its war against Hamas into areas where Israeli officials had told people earlier that it was safe to stay.
“We’re asking people to relocate,” Mark Regev, an aide to Netanyahu, told MSNBC. “I know it’s not easy for many of them, but we don’t want to see civilians caught up in the crossfire.”