Gaza, 16 June 2025 – On Thursday, 12 June 2025, the Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (PTRA) reported a complete shutdown of internet and landline communication services across all of Gaza after Israeli forces had targeted the last remaining fiber-optic line serving the central and southern governorates. This followed the disconnection of Gaza City and the North Gaza Governorate a day earlier, resulting in a total communication blackout across the entire territory. The PTRA also confirmed that Israeli forces prevented technical teams from repairing the damaged infrastructure and blocked access to alternative routes, effectively maintaining the total blackout for three consecutive days.

The gradual return of internet and landline services in parts of central and southern Gaza, as announced by the PTRA on 15 June, was short-lived. This morning, the PTRA reported a renewed shutdown in these areas due to ongoing damage to telecommunications infrastructure amid continued Israeli military attacks. This recurring disruption is a component of Israel’s persistent efforts to isolate Gaza, restrict access to life-saving information, and obstruct the coordination of humanitarian relief operations.

This total shutdown of internet and telecommunication services came amid an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, severely impacting all aspects of daily life. The blackout paralyzed critical services, including emergency response, humanitarian relief operations, media reporting, and education, further deepening the suffering of civilians and raising serious concerns that casualties would increase and more attacks would go unreported. Indeed, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that the loss of communication severely hampered its ability to coordinate with field teams and respond promptly to urgent humanitarian and emergency cases. Its emergency operations room also struggled to communicate with other humanitarian organizations, placing the lives of the wounded and the sick at grave risk.

Hospitals and health services, including ambulances and civil defense crews, which depend mainly on internet access to receive emergency calls from the public and to share accurate information with journalists about the number of casualties resulting from the ongoing Israeli air strikes, were severely affected by the shutdown. The disruption stopped these services, making fieldwork significantly difficult and slowing down rescue and relief efforts.

Furthermore, the shutdown of internet and landline services severely disrupted communication among civilians, cutting people off from one another and the outside world. It also impaired organizational and logistical operations, hindered access to vital information for individuals and institutions alike, and significantly reduced coordination between civilians and humanitarian organizations working to deliver aid.

The blackout has also had a devastating impact on education. Students in Gaza were in the midst of their end-of-year exams for primary and middle school levels, with high school exams for grades 11 and 12 scheduled to follow—all of which are conducted online. The shutdown disrupted exam schedules and brought about the risk of further setbacks in students' education, in the context of ongoing instability and repeated disruptions throughout the academic year.

Due to the urgent need for communication amid the blackout, many journalists and civilians resorted to using eSIM cards. However, these require advanced smartphones and access to signal networks, which are often only available in elevated or open areas, putting users at increased risk of being targeted should they move to those areas to use their phones. The high cost and limited availability of such devices in the blockaded Gaza make this option inaccessible for most people.

Gaza continues to witness daily, large-scale killings of civilians amid relentless Israeli bombardments that indiscriminately target homes, shelters, and aid distribution points. The population is being subjected to systematic starvation, with Israeli authorities deliberately blocking the entry of food and medical supplies. As a result, malnutrition has become widespread, particularly among children, many of whom now face the risk of slow, preventable death. This humanitarian catastrophe is further compounded by the total collapse of the healthcare system, as hospitals are unable to provide care due to severe shortages of fuel, medicine, and other essential resources.

Amid this humanitarian collapse, and in an apparent attempt to escalate its crimes without international scrutiny or accountability, Israeli authorities have sought to conceal the full scale of atrocities by cutting off internet and telecommunications services.

Al Mezan strongly condemns the Israeli forces’ shutdown of internet and landline services in Gaza and their obstruction of repair efforts. This deliberate action is intended to facilitate the commission of further atrocities shielded from scrutiny, prevent the real-time documentation of crimes, conceal evidence and facts, and completely isolate Gaza from the outside world.

Al Mezan calls on the international community to exert firm pressure on Israel to cease its targeting of vital telecommunications infrastructure, allow safe and unimpeded access for technical teams to repair damaged networks, and ensure the protection of workers restoring essential services. We further call for immediate action to end the ongoing genocide, lift the Israeli siege, and provide urgent protection for civilians, humanitarian and medical institutions. In addition, we urge guarantees for press freedom and journalists’ access to information, as well as the activation of international accountability mechanisms to end the entrenched policy of impunity.