Silencing Gaza: How and Why Israel Cuts Internet in Gaza

For nearly two years, Israel has cut off internet and communications in Gaza during its ongoing genocide. These blackouts last for hours or even days. They disconnect more than two million Palestinians from the world.

A Palestinian security official told Anadolu Agency that the goal is intelligence, military, psychological, and media control.

When Israel cuts Gaza off, civil defense, ambulances, and hospitals suffer. Humanitarian aid distribution halts. Families lose contact. Everything stops.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian telecom company Paltel announced another blackout in Gaza City and the north. The company said Israeli strikes damaged major cables feeding the area. Its teams work under fire to fix the lines.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has cut internet and phone services more than 12 times, according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. The group says the goal is to isolate Gaza, disrupt humanitarian work, and hide war crimes.

Israel’s Aims: Spy, Break, Silence

The AA reported citing a security source as explaining three main reasons:

• Military and intelligence: Israel uses blackouts to track Palestinian resistance networks and hack signals.
• Psychological pressure: Families panic when they cannot reach loved ones during bombings. People feel abandoned and alone.
• Media control: Israel tries to block images and reports of crimes and massacres from leaving Gaza, covering up evidence of atrocities.

Why Connections Return

Israel sometimes restores service after days. The source said this allows Israel to:

• Reconnect with informants inside Gaza.
• Monitor humanitarian groups and civilians.
• Spy on calls and data using advanced surveillance and AI systems.
• Promote propaganda, claiming it respects international law.

Israel also uses restored lines to send warnings, spread rumors, and pressure Palestinians into giving information.

How Israel Cuts Internet

Researcher Ibrahim al-Haj explains that Palestinians rely on four companies for internet in Gaza: Paltel, Mada, Fusion, and Digital Communication. But all of them depend on Israeli firms, especially Bezeq, the state-owned telecom provider.

The reason is structural. The only international landing points for internet cables are in Tel Aviv and occupied Haifa. Gaza has no direct access to global cables because Israel controls the sea. That makes Israel the real internet gatekeeper for Palestinians.

Even when Paltel was granted licenses to operate, it had to build infrastructure through Israeli networks and under military oversight. Army officers inspect and approve every step.

A Military Tool, Not Just a Service

The control is not new. In 2011, Israeli bulldozers cut a set of cables at a depth of 8–20 meters near Nahal Oz, disrupting the supply to Gaza’s broadcasting towers. At the time, Paltel had to coordinate with security authorities to repair the damage, while Israel denied any responsibility. Just one year later, in 2012, high-speed internet cables were extended along the Gaza border, but the operation took place only under direct supervision of the Israeli army, with soldiers from an infantry battalion participating. On that day, Major Adam Afidan from the Coordination and Liaison Department commented: “The entire operation was treated and executed as a military operation.”