'We are terrified about what comes next,' British aid group says on Gaza comms cut

LONDON

World leaders "must not" continue to give the green light for "atrocities to be committed" in Gaza, a UK-based aid group warned on Friday, adding that they are "terrified" of what might come next in the conflict.

"As Israel's indiscriminate bombardment continues to intensify, and a large-scale ground operation looks imminent, we have lost all contact with our team in #Gaza this evening," Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) CEO Melanie Ward said on X.

Citing MAP official Mahmoud Shalabi, who has been reporting from inside the besieged and bombarded strip, Ward conveyed fears that people in Gaza would suffer "massacres ... done in total darkness," as Israel cut off the region's electricity supply.

Tel Aviv also completely cut off communications and internet services in the Gaza Strip on Friday evening amid heavy bombing of feeder lines, towers, and networks, the Palestine Telecommunications Company said.

Touching on civilian deaths in Gaza, which include over 3,000 children, Ward said: "With Gaza now cut off from the world, we are terrified about what comes next."

Calling on the world to "remember their responsibility" to protect Palestinian civilians, she called on world leaders not to continue to "give the green light for atrocities to be committed in Gaza."

"We need a ceasefire now, and an immediate end to these unprecedented horrors," she added.

The current conflict in Gaza escalated dramatically after Hamas' military wing carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7 by firing thousands of rockets and sending hundreds of fighters into Israeli towns.

Israel responded with an uninterrupted campaign of air and artillery strikes on the Gaza Strip, and the government announced that it is preparing for a ground offensive to root out Hamas.

Over 8,700 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 7,326 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis.

Gaza's 2.3 million residents are grappling with shortages of food, water, and medicine due to Israel's massive air bombardment and total blockade of the enclave.