More sound, more image. As the Israeli army launched a salvo of "unprecedented" bombing on the Palestinian enclave on Friday (October 27th), telecommunications and internet in the territory were cut off, according to the ruling Hamas government. The Palestinian telecoms company Jawwal confirmed the shutdown and NetBlocks, an internet access monitoring service, reported a "collapse of connectivity in the Gaza Strip."
To discover
- Download the Le Figaro app: the news at the heart of your day
On X (formerly Twitter), the hashtag #StarlinkForGaza quickly spread, with more than 3.74 million posts. Thousands of Internet users are calling on Elon Musk to provide his Starlink satellite internet service to the Gaza Strip, as he did in February 2022 at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. This technology has played a vital role for the Ukrainian military, which has used it to communicate, but also to direct its drones and artillery fire.
Launched in 2018 by SpaceX, Starlink is a satellite internet service provider. This constellation of 5000 satellites, which is destined to expand further, aims to offer coverage in the most remote areas of the globe. For the time being, neither Elon Musk nor his company have communicated about a possible intervention in the Gaza sky.
"This shutdown risks being used as a cover for mass atrocities"
On the ground, where the humanitarian situation is catastrophic, many associations and media are warning of the risk posed by this "blackout". "This information cut off risks being used as a cover for mass atrocities and contributing to impunity for human rights violations," Human Rights Watch official Deborah Brown said in a statement. These concerns are shared by Médecins Sans Frontières and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
"We have lost contact with our staff in Gaza, with health facilities, health workers and the rest of our humanitarian partners on the ground. I am gravely concerned about this seat for their safety and for the immediate health risks to vulnerable patients," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, wrote on X.