SHRINKING DEMOCRACY, GROWING VIOLENCE
44
Palestine
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023,
the Israeli military has committed unspeakable
horrors against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. As
we write, the official death toll exceeding 30,000
people is still climbing daily as thousands more
remain missing under the rubble.230 Israeli authorities
have systematically impeded entry of humanitarian
aid, including food, water, and healthcare, while
destroying all essential civilian infrastructure in the
Gaza Strip, including telecommunications, hospitals,
and schools.231 Israel’s incessant disruption of
humanitarian and emergency aid in Gaza is severely
limiting people’s access to food, spurring the World
Health Organization (WHO) to warn of looming famine
and starvation that put children especially at risk.232
UN human rights experts have issued stark warnings
about the potential genocide in the Gaza Strip,233
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered
Israel to respect and uphold its binding obligations to
prevent genocide,234 and the UN Security Council has
passed a resolution calling for a “lasting sustainable
ceasefire.”235 Access Now supports this call.236
Since the start of the war, Israeli authorities
have weaponized internet shutdowns through a
range of tactics, including imposing intermittent
communications blackouts coinciding with intense
bombing and shelling, destroying telecommunications
infrastructure, cutting off traffic to individual internet
service providers (ISPs), and blocking access to fuel
required to power telecommunications services.237
Together, these shutdowns have kept people in Gaza
almost entirely in the dark and have cut them off from
an essential lifeline.
Starting on October 9, at least 15 out of the 19 ISPs in
Gaza were facing complete shutdown of their mobile
and broadband services, while the remaining four were
encountering substantial, though differing, degrees of
disruption, affecting millions across the Gaza Strip.238
Throughout the rest of the year, and with heavy
bombardment continuing and fuel depleting, internet
traffic in the Gaza Strip significantly plummeted,
with at least eight full communication blackouts for
the entirety of the Strip occurring between October
and December.239 Israel has also reportedly targeted
repair workers attempting to restore internet access
after the destruction. This includes two workers from
Palestinian telecom provider Jawwal who were killed
when an Israeli missile hit their car on January 13,
230 NPR (2024). Gaza's death toll now exceeds 30,000. Here's why it's an incomplete count. https://www.npr.
org/2024/02/29/1234159514/gaza-death-toll-30000-palestinians-israel-hamas-war
231 Refugees International (2024). Siege and Starvation: How Israel Obstructs Aid to Gaza. https://www.refugeesinternational.
org/reports-briefs/siege-and-starvation-how-israel-obstructs-aid-to-gaza/; BBC News (2024). World Food Programme says
northern Gaza aid convoy blocked. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68486248; International Rescue Committee
(2024). The collapse of Gaza's health system. https://www.rescue.org/article/collapse-gazas-health-system; Human Rights Watch
(2023). Gaza: Unlawful Israeli Hospital Strikes Worsen Health Crisis. https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/14/gaza-unlawful-israelihospital-strikes-worsen-health-crisis; Al Jazeera (2024). How Israel has destroyed Gaza's schools and universities. https://www.
aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/how-israel-has-destroyed-gazas-schools-and-universities; Wired (2023). The Destruction
of Gaza's Internet Is Complete. https://www.wired.com/story/gaza-internet-blackout-israel/; Supra note 10. Access Now
(2023).
232 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros). X post. 12:22 pm. March 6, 2024. https://x.com/DrTedros/
status/1765352292197261356
233 OHCHR (2023). Gaza: UN experts call on international community to prevent genocide against the Palestinian people.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/11/gaza-un-experts-call-international-community-prevent-genocide-against;
OHCHR (2024). States must adhere to obligations under Genocide Convention to prevent further loss of life in Gaza, says Special
Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/03/states-must-adhere-obligations-undergenocide-convention-prevent-further
234 International Court of Justice (2024). Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel): The Court indicates provisional measures.
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-pre-01-00-en.pdf
235 Amnesty International (2024). UN resolution must pave way for enduring ceasefire to alleviate mass suffering in Gaza.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/03/un-resolution-must-pave-way-for-enduring-ceasefire-to-alleviate-masssuffering-in-gaza/
236 Access Now (2023). Human rights organizations join the open call for an immediate physical and digital ceasefire in Gaza,
and for Palestinians globally. https://www.accessnow.org/press-release/palestine-israel-physical-digital-ceasefire/
237
238
Supra note 64.
Ibid.
239 Supra note 25. Access Now (2023); see also Access Now (@accessnow). X post. 4:30 pm. December 7, 2023.
https://x.com/accessnow/status/1732799830131351995; Paltel (@paltelco). X post. 2:54 pm. December 17, 2023. https://x.com/
Paltelco/status/1736398936750117082