The Gaza Strip has entered its third consecutive day of a full telecommunications blackout, in what digital rights groups are calling a deliberate and systematic erasure of connectivity, digital rights group 7amleh said in a statement on Thursday. The crisis began on 10 June 2025, when Israeli military strikes reportedly targeted the main fibre-optic backbone connecting Gaza City and North Gaza, causing an immediate collapse of internet and landline services in the northern governorates.
As of 12 June, the destruction has spread to central and southern areas following the confirmed targeting of the final remaining fibre route, according to the Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
The TRA reports that 100% of Gaza’s internet and fixed-line communications are now offline. Mobile networks are barely functional and are expected to collapse due to severe strain, lack of infrastructure, and the absence of redundant systems.
“This is not a localised outage or technical fault,” said a TRA spokesperson. “This is the complete dismantling of Gaza’s connectivity infrastructure.”
This is not the first time Gaza has suffered communications blackouts. Since October 2023, several major outages have occurred, often aligning with intensified military operations. The current June 2025 blackout, however, is the first complete shutdown of all internet, landline, and nearly all mobile services simultaneously across the entire Strip.
The blackout has catastrophic consequences for civilians and humanitarian responders. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported today: “We are facing serious difficulty in communicating with our teams in the Gaza Strip due to a complete shutdown of internet and landline services following the direct targeting of telecommunications lines by occupation forces. Our emergency operations room is struggling to coordinate with other organisations to respond to urgent humanitarian cases.”
Telecom providers report they are unable to conduct repairs due to a lack of equipment, a result of the ongoing blockade and access restrictions imposed by Israeli forces. Over 78% of Gaza is now classified as an evacuation or combat zone, making infrastructure repair nearly impossible without international coordination, which has not yet materialised.
“This blackout is not incidental. It is a strategy of forced isolation that strips 2.3 million people of their basic right to communicate, report, and call for help. We call on international humanitarian agencies and telecom regulators to recognise this as a critical emergency,” 7amleh said in an urgent appeal.
They further warn that the lack of digital access leaves civilians and journalists vulnerable and undocumented, fueling impunity.
In the absence of official channels, demand has surged for eSIMs and other improvised solutions near Gaza’s borders—often accessed at great personal risk—underscoring the desperation of those attempting to reconnect with the outside world.
