Internet and communication services cut off in Gaza

Telecommunications companies in Palestine have announced that internet and communication services in the blockaded Gaza Strip have been cut off due to the exhaustion of energy resources. Paltel Group and Ooredoo Palestine, companies providing telecommunications services in Palestine, issued separate written statements one day after fuel and power batteries in the region were depleted.

Paltel Group stated that it regrets to announce the complete cessation of communication services (fixed, cellular, and internet) in the Gaza Strip following the prevention of fuel entry and the depletion of backup energy sources necessary to operate main network components. Ooredoo reported to its subscribers with regret that its services in some areas of the southern and northern Gaza Strip have been suspended due to the depletion of fuel.

In the Gaza Strip, which has been under blockade for years and suffers from poor conditions, Israel's attacks since October 7 have cut off the supply of water, food, medicine, electricity, and fuel to the region, while fixed-line, mobile phone, and internet communication services are also frequently interrupted. Palestinian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ishaq Sadr, in a statement on November 1 following these interruptions, had called on Egypt to activate communication stations and roaming near the Gaza Strip. In a statement on November 12, Sadr had warned that communication services in the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli blockade and attacks, would stop on Thursday, November 16, due to fuel shortages.