The US government has pressed Israel to restore communications in Gaza after it was disconnected on Friday night when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initiated the first phase of their ground incursion into the region.
As per sources, Israel did has not provided a reason for the communication shutdown.
"We made it clear that it had to be turned back on," a US official has been quoted as saying, and communications were subsequently reestablished, with the US emphasizing: “They need to stay back on.”
The easing of the communication blackout allowed the United Nations, World Health Organization, and other emergency and aid groups to get in touch with their personnel in Gaza and resume humanitarian efforts.
On Sunday morning, telephone and internet communications were partially reinstated in Gaza after residents were left in the dark for more than a day. The blackout had reportedly hindered rescue operations, as Israel targeted locations associated with the Hamas militant group.
In the last 24 hours, IDF fighter jets struck over 450 military targets belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, including operational command centres, observation posts, and anti-tank missile launch posts, the military said as it pushes deeper into the Hamas-run territory.
Israel has tightened its blockade and bombarded Gaza for three weeks since Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostage in the October 7 cross-border attack.
Medical authorities in the Gaza Strip said on Sunday that 8,005 Palestinians - including 3,324 children - had been killed in Israel's campaign to obliterate the Iran-backed Hamas militants.
Western countries have generally backed what they say is Israel's right to self-defence. But there has been a mounting international outcry over the toll from the bombing and calls for a "humanitarian pause" to allow aid to reach Gaza civilians.
US President Joe Biden told Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a phone call on Sunday that his country had a right to defend itself, but had to make protecting civilians a priority.
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