Hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops reportedly had white flag

In Israel, hundreds of protesters blocked Tel Aviv's main highway late Friday, putting pressure on the government to resume negotiations for hostages.

A prolonged communications blackout that severed telephone and internet connections compounded the misery Saturday in the besieged Gaza Strip, where a United Nations agency said hunger levels had spiraled in recent days.

Internet and telephone lines went down Thursday evening and were still inaccessible Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel's war against Gaza's ruling militant group Hamas stretched into the 11th week.

The blackout is the longest in the over-two-month war, said Alp Toker, the group's director. The United Nations' humanitarian affairs department said communications with Gaza were "severely disrupted" due to damage to telecommunications lines in the south.

"I cannot stress enough the dire consequences of this communications blackout on our ability to provide essential humanitarian aid," Fikr Shalltoot, director of the Medical Aid for Palestinians group in Gaza, told The Associated Press from Egypt, where she is based. "We cannot communicate with our partners to deliver vital health services. We are unable to even check in with our colleagues, most of whom have been displaced from their homes and lost loved ones."

The offensive, triggered by the unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 85% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million from their homes. Displaced people have squeezed into shelters mainly in the south in a spiraling humanitarian crisis.