For nearly two years in its ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, Israel has deliberately imposed complete and repeated cuts to communications and internet services, often lasting hours or days.
A Palestinian security official told Anadolu Agency that this blackout is not just a technical disruption but a tool with “intelligence, military, psychological, and media” purposes.
The official, who declined to be named because of security concerns, said the psychological impact is among the most severe. The communications blackout puts Palestinians in a very difficult psychological state due to the continuous fear and anxiety over their relatives in other areas of Gaza.
“Palestinians in the heart of war hear the sounds of explosions and horrors of genocide, but they don’t know the location or source of the threat, which drives them into episodes of anxiety and fear.”
The sense of being cut off deepens feelings of abandonment, the official explained: “Isolating Gaza from the world also makes Palestinians feel they are alone and that no one is aware of the genocide and atrocities they are subjected to.”
The communication blackouts also affect daily life and critical services already operating at their limits, including hospitals, civil defence, and humanitarian aid distribution.
‘Dangerous and immoral’
Despite condemnations from the UN and rights groups labelling the policy “dangerous and immoral,” Israel continues to enforce it without regard for international law.
On Wednesday, Palestine Telecommunications Company announced that internet and landline services had been cut in Gaza City and northern Gaza due to ongoing Israeli strikes that damaged main supply routes.
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor noted that since October 7, 2023, Israel has imposed more than 12 total blackouts in Gaza as part of a “systematic policy” to conceal Gaza's dire situation from the outside world and obstruct humanitarian response.
The security official also said Israel exploits telecommunications for its own purposes, such as contacting collaborators, coordinating evacuations, and intercepting civilian calls.
Israel “exploits Palestinian public communications to spy on hundreds of thousands of calls and collect information, which it can use for security purposes,” said the official.
He stressed that beyond intelligence gains, the blackout-and-restore cycle forms part of Israel’s psychological and propaganda war.
