Palestinian telecommunications operator Paltel announced on Wednesday a "total" shutdown of telephone and internet lines in the Gaza Strip, besieged by the Israeli army. "We regret to announce to compatriots of our beloved country a total shutdown of communications and internet services in Gaza," Paltel said on social network X. The reasons for the cuts were not specified.
The Netblocks network watchdog confirmed that "live measurements show that the Gaza Strip is experiencing a new internet shutdown with a significant impact on the operator Paltel." The incident means "a total loss of telecommunications for most residents," he added.
⚠️ Confirmed: Live metrics show that the #Gaza Strip is in the midst of a new internet blackout with high impact to the last remaining major operator, Paltel; the incident will be experienced as a total loss of telecommunications by most residents 📉 pic.twitter.com/uYAFEHLH7x
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) November 1, 2023
Earlier, an AFP journalist in Gaza confirmed the outage, saying he had access to a telecommunications network through an international SIM card. "Only Israeli or Egyptian mobile phone numbers can be used in Rafah," another AFP journalist in the Palestinian territory said.
A first blackout of communications on Friday
Communications had already been cut off in the Gaza Strip on Friday as Israel carried out intense strikes on the Palestinian territory, depriving its 2.4 million residents of contact. They were gradually reinstated from Sunday. During the first shutdown, the Palestinian Red Crescent said it had "lost contact with its operational centre and all (its) teams in the Gaza Strip. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch expressed concern that such a shutdown would serve as a "cover for mass atrocities."
In Israel, according to the authorities, more than 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians, as a result of the bloody Hamas attack on October 7, according to Israeli authorities. The Palestinian Islamist movement, for its part, claims that more than 8,500 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the conflict.