2hr ago
Communication services have been gradually restored across Gaza, a main telecom provider and an advocacy group say, 15 hours after the territory experienced its third communication blackout since the war began on Oct. 7.
Palestinian communications company Paltel announces that its services, including fixed, mobile and internet communications, have been gradually restored.
Alp Toker, director of the internet advocacy group NetBlocks.org, confirms that internet connectivity has been restored to levels prior to Sunday’s disruption. Overall service, however, remains significantly below prewar levels, he says.
Israel-Hamas war live updates: Gaza death toll passes 10,000, Health Ministry says (nbcnews.com)
12m ago / 6:13 AM PST
Securing humanitarian pause still a 'work in progress,' Blinken says
ANKARA, Turkey — Blinken said the U.S. is working “almost every single minute” to make diplomatic progress in the Israel-Hamas war.
When pressed about whether he has really accomplished his goals on this tour of the Middle East — given that Israel has not yet agreed to a humanitarian pause and the strikes on Palestinian civilians continue — Blinken said that is “a work in progress.”
“Sometimes, the absence of something bad happening may not be the most obvious evidence of progress, but it is,” he said, noting that people can expect to see an expansion of U.S. humanitarian assistance in Gaza in significant ways in the days ahead.
Blinken left Turkey this morning following his more than two-hour meeting with the country’s foreign minister. His whirlwind trip has also involved surprise visits to Baghdad and the occupied West Bank. He said the tour has included important conversations about setting the conditions for a just, durable and sustainable peace.
