Skyline condemns Israel’s cutting off of communications in Gaza amid escalating violence and bombardment
The international human rights organization Skyline condemned on Wednesday Israel’s cutting off of internet services and all communications in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement carried by the Palestinian Quds Press Agency, the organization emphasized that this step was deliberate and timed to coincide with the escalation of violence and Israeli airstrikes, which have increased the number of civilian casualties, with the aim of forcing the population of the Gaza Strip toward forced displacement.
It explained that “the recent communications blackout coincided with the expansion of the ground invasion of Gaza City and the issuance of orders by Israeli forces for mass evacuation, exacerbating the suffering of more than two million Palestinians and forcing a forced silence on journalists and media workers, with the aim of obscuring the crimes and violations committed by Israel.”
It stated, “Israel’s internet outage is hampering coordination between hospitals and emergency teams and obstructing the arrival of fuel and vital medical supplies, threatening the collapse of health services within days and exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.”
Skyline emphasized that “repeated internet outages constitute a flagrant violation of fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and access to information, and constitute a deliberate use of communication media as a weapon of war against civilians.”
It called for “the immediate and full restoration of telecommunications and internet services in the Gaza Strip, an end to the targeting of communications infrastructure, and the lifting of the blockade on fuel and equipment.”
It emphasized the need to protect journalists, media workers, and humanitarian organizations and ensure their safe access to their workplaces.
Skyline concluded its statement by calling for “the establishment of accountability mechanisms to investigate Israel’s use of communications as a weapon to commit grave violations against civilians,” emphasizing that “the continuation of this policy exacerbates human suffering and undermines the basic rights of the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Earlier in the day, the Palestinian Telecommunications Company (Paltel) announced the interruption of fixed internet and landline services in the Gaza Strip and North Gaza Governorates, as a result of the ongoing Israeli military aggression since October 7, 2023.
Paltel stated in a press statement that this interruption is the result of the Israeli enemy army targeting several main routes supplying the region during the aggression.