American officials told Israeli leaders to restore communications in the besieged Gaza after a week-long blackout, Al Jazeera reports.

US news outlet Politico reports the American administration is concerned the ongoing cut of communications could make Gaza’s already dire situation even worse.

American officials have been “in touch with the government of Israel over this blackout and have urged them to turn telecoms back on”, it quoted one unnamed White House official as saying.

“Absence of telecommunications deprives people from accessing life-saving information, while also undermining first responders and other humanitarian actors’ ability to operate and to do so safely,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.