UN warns of hunger fears as Gaza Strip is hit by communications blackout

Palestinians search for bodies and survivors in the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, in Rafah (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

A prolonged communications blackout that severed telephone and internet connections compounded the misery on Saturday in the besieged Gaza Strip, where a United Nations agency said hunger levels had spiralled in recent days.

Internet and telephone lines went down on Thursday evening and were still inaccessible on Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel’s war against Gaza’s ruling militant group Hamas stretched into the 11th week.