UN stops delivery of food and supplies to Gaza amid communications blackout

Palestinians rescue survivors after an Israeli strike on Rafah (AP)

The United Nations has been forced to stop deliveries of food and other supplies to Gaza and warned of possible widespread starvation after internet and telephone services collapsed in the besieged enclave thanks to a lack of fuel.

The communications blackout, now in its second day, largely cuts off Gaza’s 2.3 million people from one another and the outside world – and paralyses the coordination of aid, which humanitarian groups were already struggling to deliver because of the fuel shortage.