The Palestinian Authority reported that internet and fixed-line communication services were disrupted in Gaza on Thursday, attributing the outage to an attack on the territory’s final fiber optic cable, which they hold Israel responsible for.
The Palestinian Authority’s telecommunications ministry reported that all internet and fixed-line communication services in the Gaza Strip have been severed. This disruption follows the targeting of the last remaining main fiber optic line in the region, with officials accusing Israel of trying to isolate Gaza from the global community.
The ministry reported that for the second consecutive day, the southern and central regions of the Gaza Strip have entered a state of complete isolation, joining Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip.
The organization reported that its maintenance and repair teams faced challenges in safely reaching the locations where damage to the fiber optic cable took place.
The ongoing Israeli occupation is hindering technical teams from restoring the cables that were severed yesterday. Reports indicate that Israeli authorities have also obstructed repairs to other telecommunication lines in Gaza for extended periods, spanning weeks and months.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that communication lines were “directly targeted by occupation forces.”
The internet outage has been reported to obstruct emergency services, disrupting communication with first responder teams actively working in the field.
“The emergency operations room faces challenges in coordinating with various organizations to address humanitarian cases effectively.”
Maysa Monayer, the spokesperson for the Palestinian communication ministry, informed AFP that “mobile calls are still available with minimal capacity” in Gaza at this time.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza, now entering its 21st month, has inflicted significant destruction on the region’s infrastructure, impacting essential services such as water supply, electricity, and transportation networks.
