'Total chaos' in Gaza as ambulances unable to operate amid blackout

Israel’s communications blackout on Gaza has made it impossible for ambulances to reach injured civilians, according to a statement by the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday.

“Reports of intense bombardment in Gaza are extremely distressing,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on social media platform X this morning.

“Evacuation of patients is not possible under such circumstances, nor to find safe shelter … The blackout is also making it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured,” the WHO continued.

The situation with ambulances being unable to locate casualties was made even more concerning by the fact that the Israeli bombardment of Gaza intensified to unprecedented levels, with reports of 100 Israeli fighter jets taking part in the overnight bombing.

Scores of people are reported to have been killed, according to hospital sources, with the Gaza health ministry raising the death toll from Israel's strikes since 7 October to 7,703, including 3,595 children.

Reports of intense bombardment in Gaza are extremely distressing.

Evacuation of patients is not possible under such circumstances, nor to find safe shelter.

The blackout is also making it impossible for ambulances to reach the injured.

We are still out of touch with our staff…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 28, 2023

Reporting from Khan Younis, the BBC’s Rushdi Abualouf described the situation on the ground as “total chaos”, with him going on to describe the Israel onslaught as being “on a scale we’ve never seen before”.

“Huge flames could be seen rising into the sky – it seems they [Israel] were using different types of bombs.”

“At the hospital here ambulance drivers told me they couldn’t communicate with anyone, so they were just driving in the direction of the explosions,” Abualouf added.

The Gaza Strip was plunged into darkness on Friday after Israel cut power sources and the last electricity generators finally shut down, with Israel’s “total siege” of the Palestinian enclave stopping precious fuel from entering.

The darkness that fell over Gaza coincided with Israel cutting all communications to and from the strip, with Palestinians, aid groups, journalists and civil society organisations saying they have lost touch with staff and families all across the strip.

However, the BBC’s Tom Bateman, writing on X this morning, confirmed that messages were now getting through to Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, shortly before the publication of Aboualaf’s report.