Internet goes down in parts of south, central Gaza

The internet was cut off in areas of southern and central Gaza, Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel said on Sunday evening.

"We regret to announce the halting of internet services in areas of Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah because of the [Israeli] aggression," Paltel said.

"We are working hard to restore services as quickly as possible."

It is the second outage this month, after communications were interrupted on 8 September amid Israel's ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

During the war, communications and the internet network have been halted more than 12 times, sometimes affecting all of Gaza and at others specific parts of the enclave. 

Many of the Gaza Strip's journalists have denounced the communication blackout as an attempt to silence their reporting on the atrocities and bombardment. 

The disruption has pushed journalists and others to use electronic SIM cards, or eSIMs, to access mobile networks operating in neighbouring Egypt or Israel.

Paltel technical teams face numerous difficulties in repairing lines as a result of ongoing ground and air operations, as well as violent Israeli bombing on different areas of Gaza.

According to expert estimates previously obtained by The New Arab's Arabic sister service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the damages to Paltel due to Israeli bombing and attacks over the past year are valued at at least $100 million.

At some stages, cellular networks came to a virtual standstill, with disruption reaching 90 percent of services, according to the data.

Israel's war on Gaza, which began in October 2023, has killed more than 41,000 people, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry.

Hospitals, places of worship, and residential buildings have been attacked, while South Africa has accused Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' top tribunal.

The devastating military campaign has prompted an outpouring of international public support for Palestinians and damaged the standing of Israel and its Western allies.