Shafaq News – Gaza
The Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC) condemned on Thursday the killing of photojournalist Mohammed Alaa al-Sawalhi in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City, as strikes on infrastructure triggered a communications blackout across the area.
According to the center, al-Sawalhi, who worked with Al-Quds Today channel, is the fifth journalist killed in Gaza this month and the 252nd since the war began on October 7, 2023. The organization also accused Israel of deliberately cutting internet and telecommunications in Gaza City and northern areas to conceal violations while intensifying ground operations and issuing evacuation orders.
Read more: Gaza media in ruins: Hundreds of journalists killed
The center warned that the blackout has obstructed coordination between hospitals and emergency teams, pushing the health system toward collapse amid shortages of fuel and medical supplies. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported that nearly 800,000 residents have been cut off after bombardments destroyed much of the network infrastructure, describing Gaza City as plunged into “total blackout.”
Humanitarian agencies have linked the loss of communications to worsening conditions on the ground. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) urged the international community to prioritize a ceasefire and guarantee safe delivery of aid, while World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that evacuation orders in northern Gaza were forcing families into uninhabitable areas and leaving the injured and disabled in grave danger.
In Washington, US Senator Bernie Sanders accused Israel of committing genocide, becoming the first sitting senator to use the term. He cited findings by international and Israeli human rights groups, as well as a leaked Israeli military database, pointing to more than 65,000 Palestinians killed, including over 18,000 children, and the destruction of 70 percent of Gaza’s structures.
“The intent is clear,” he declared. “The conclusion is inescapable: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.”