Gaza suffers a communications blackout amid a severe fuel shortage.

The Gaza Strip suffered a communications blackout on Thursday, cutting off most of the enclave’s more than two million people from the outside world amid an escalating Israeli ground operation and relentless bombing.

Two major Palestinian mobile networks, Jawwal And Paltelsaid that “all telecom services” in the besieged strip were out of service “because all energy sources supporting the network have been exhausted and fuel was no longer allowed to enter.”

The networks had repeatedly warned this week that dwindling supplies would halt their services due to a severe fuel shortage across the strip, which has worsened an already dire humanitarian situation. UNRWAThe largest United Nations agency in Gaza, which distributes aid from the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, said it would not be able to provide aid on Friday because of the power outage.

Israel is blocking fuel from entering Gaza, saying Hamas uses it for rocket attacks and has stockpiled fuel intended for civilians, and has cut off electricity there since it began its bombardment after Hamas’ surprise attacks on October 7.

Communications appeared to be lost late Thursday afternoon. In some cases the phone rang unanswered. Other times, callers heard a recorded message: “Contact with the beloved Gaza Strip was lost due to the ongoing aggression. May God protect Gaza and its people.”

This message is familiar to those who had tried to reach people in Gaza late last month, when communications were cut off three times for periods ranging from 12 to 48 hours after strikes damaged telephone lines. US officials also said Israel had disabled Gaza’s telephone networks and caused some of the outages earlier in the war.

Last month’s disruptions made it difficult for emergency and rescue crews to locate and evacuate those killed and injured in strikes, spreading panic and fear across the territory.

“Israel’s continued refusal to provide sufficient fuel and restore power will bring Gaza’s communications network to a complete standstill,” Amnesty International said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that “citizens in Gaza cannot afford another power outage.”

Even before fuel ran out and damaged lines hit, it has been difficult to reach people in the strip since Israel’s retaliatory bombing began. Gaza has struggled with connectivity below 30 percent of normal levels since the first week of the war, according to data from IODA and NetBlocks, which track internet access worldwide.