shutdowns are particularly egregious, given how people living through war are oLen forcibly displaced, surviving in desperate and inhumane conditions, or experiencing hunger and starvation, exploitation, limited resources, and soaring prices for everyday necessities. Prior to October 2023, Israel’s restrictions on the movement of goods, money, and people into and out of Gaza made the internet an economic lifeline for Gazans experiencing soaring and persistent unemployment rates. But by December 2024, with 74% of Gaza’s fixed and mobile communication networks already destroyed, many found themselves jobless and without a source of income. An estimated 35,000 tech workers in Gaza were made redundant in the first month of the war, while the total unemployment rate surged to over 79% by December 2023. A cash shortage saw people in Gaza turning to digital payment apps and e-wallet accounts, which then became inaccessible during internet shutdowns. Similarly in Sudan, cash scarcity, looting, and the destruction of banking infrastructure, has pushed people to use digital apps to transfer cash, buy necessities, and receive remittances from abroad. Chief among these is the Bank of Khartoum’s app “Bankak,” which saw an 85% surge in app activations during the war. Several of the people we interviewed spoke of their reliance on Bankak as the only way to pay for essentials — a lifeline that was then cut during shutdowns. Such economic harms affect civilians both psychologically and physically, depriving them of the ability to buy food, water, or medicine, and placing them at heightened risk of starvation and illness. T., PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYEE, A. A.B., B., LABORER, UNDISCLOSED LO- GAZA CITY, GAZA / SHUTDOWN CATION / SHUTDOWN STARTED: FEB- STARTED: NOVEMBER 9 2023 RUARY 6, 2024 “I lost my job because of the shutdown in Gaza city. Five months have gone by, and I am still unable to work, and I find myself having financial troubles. The shutdown also prevents me from receiving remittances sent by my brother living abroad. How would banks and exchange offices operate without internet access? The communications blackout is another kind of war; a war against access to work, a war that nourishes fear and angst.” “Without the internet, I can’t send money to my family. My mother has diabetes and needs medication, while my father has diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. They don’t even have enough money for food. I am deeply worried and don’t know how they are surviving.” 4. CIVIL AND POLITICAL HARMS Internet shutdowns interfere with people’s ability to exercise the right to seek, receive, and impart information. In situations of armed conflict, the internet is an indispensable tool for people to express