Gaza Strip internet cut off following Israeli airstrikes

The Gaza Strip is suffering a near-total connectivity outage as the Israeli Defense Forces announced Friday that it was “expanding ground operations” in the region. 

As of Friday, the connectivity tracker NetBlocks reported “a collapse in connectivity in the Gaza Strip,” with one of the largest and last remaining Palestinian telecom providers, Paltel, being highly impacted by intense airstrikes. Paltel said it had sustained “a complete disruption of all communication and internet services” as a result of the barrage, according to The Washington Post.

Since Israel cut off much of Gaza’s access to electricity earlier this month, the strip has largely relied on other power sources like generators to support connectivity. But in recent days, a bombardment of airstrikes has reportedly destroyed much of the supporting infrastructure. 

On Thursday, service from another large internet provider, NetStream, “collapsed,” according to NetBlocks. The network “notified subscribers that service would end due to a severe shortage of fuel supplies.” The Palestine Red Crescent Society, a humanitarian organization, said Friday that it was “deeply concerned” that it may not be able to provide emergency medical services due to loss of communications services. 

“We have completely lost contact with the operations room in Gaza Strip and all of our teams operating there due to the Israeli authorities cutting off all landline, cellular and internet communications,” the Red Crescent said in a statement on X Friday.