Israel-Hamas war Updates: Amid massive airstrikes on Gaza, the authority said limited phone and internet services began working again across the Strip after fuel was delivered to restart generators that power the networks on Friday. The major development came after the United States forced Israel to allow two tanker trucks of fuel into Gaza each day for the United Nations and communication systems. That amount is half of what the UN said it needs for lifesaving functions including powering water systems, hospitals, bakeries and the trucks delivering aid.
NetBlocks, a group tracking internet outages, confirmed that “internet connectivity is being partially restored” in the Gaza Strip.
A US State Department official said 10,000 litres of the daily intake will be used to power the enclave’s communications network.
At least 11,470 Palestinians — two-thirds of them women and minors — have been killed since the war began, according to Palestinian health authorities, who do not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 people are reported missing.
Tanzania announces death of man kept in Hamas captivity
Meanwhile, Tanzania’s Foreign Ministry on Friday announced the death of Clemence Felix Mtenga, 22, one of two Tanzanian agriculture interns believed kidnapped by Palestinian militants on October 7. The statement did not provide details on how the Tanzanian government had learned of his death or the location of his remains.
Clemence and 21-year-old Joshua Loitu Mollel were working on cow farms not far from the Gaza Strip — Clemence had been placed at Nir Oz and Joshua was living at Nahal Oz. They had arrived in Israel in mid-September.
Situation in Al Shifa Hospital remains grave
More than two days after Israeli soldiers stormed Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, doctors said they were amputating limbs to avoid infection and spoke of wounds festering with maggots, while Israel’s military said it was still searching for evidence to back up its allegations that Hamas used the hospital as a command centre.
Hospital director Mohammed Abu Selmia told Al Jazeera television that 52 patients have died since fuel ran out — up from 40 reported dead before Israeli troops entered the compound on Wednesday. More patients were on the verge of death as their wounds were “open with maggots coming out of them,” another doctor, Faisal Siyam, told the Qatar-run TV network.
US military bases attacked in Iraq and Syria
Militants attacked US military bases in Iraq and Syria on Friday, conducting three strikes on facilities using one-way attack drones that wounded one soldier, two US officials said on the condition of anonymity to provide sensitive details of the strikes.
The attacks have been launched almost daily since October 17, the day a blast at a Gaza hospital killed hundreds and sparked protests across the region. The US has repeatedly warned the groups to desist and avoid escalating the war between Israel and Hamas into a wider conflict.
The three additional attacks on US military facilities in Iraq and Syria on Friday bring the total number of attacks on US and coalition military facilities in Iraq and Syria to at least 60 since October 17. At least 59 service members have been wounded, but the Pentagon has said all were minor injuries and those troops were able to return to duty.
(With inputs from agency
