On Wednesday, all internet and telephone service in the Gaza Strip briefly went out as Israel stepped up its ground incursion. Though both appear to have gone back up shortly thereafter, and it wasn't made known if the blackout was intentional, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller warned Israel not to cut off internet access to the Gaza Strip.
“Our expectation is that in conducting this military campaign that they do so in full compliance with international law,” he added, according to the Times of Israel. The Wednesday blackout was reported by the Palestine Telecommunications Company, Paltel, in a post on X. "We regret to announce that there has been a complete interruption of all communications and Internet services within the Gaza Strip, due to the international routes that were previously reconnected being cut off again," the post read."May God protect you and protect our country."نأسف للإعلان عن ان انقطاع كامل لكافة خدمات الاتصالات والإنترنت مع قطاع غزة، وذلك بسبب تعرض المسارات الدولية والتي تم إعادة وصلها سابقا للفصل مرة اخرى.
Internet and phone communications were completely cut off in Gaza on Friday, which coincided with the beginning of Israeli ground operations in the region. According to the Times of Israel, access was only restored on Sunday following heavy U.S. pressure.