On October 27th, Israeli forces started their ground invasion of the Gaza strip, internet service was cut for all of Gaza and almost 2 million Palestinians could not reach their friends or loved ones in desperation to find if they are alive or not. Paramedics and emergency services drove blindly toward the sounds of explosions, without these important resources they were truly at a disadvantage. The United States believes Israel is responsible for the blackout and officials talk about the struggle for autonomy in the region. In response to the attack on October 7th, when Hammas invaded Israel and took around 220 hostages, Israel cut off electricity, water and medical supplies while airstrikes continued to bombard the densely populated area. 47 aid trucks crossed the border into Egypt carrying life saving resources, this was the most in a single day allowed on October 21st, however the amount of injured has been significant and Egypt will require more resources in the future. Internet and power started up again on Sunday, Palestine’s main telecommunications company spoke about how they believed the government was responsible for the cut as well as the restoration. Israel officials have yet to comment about the responsibility of the blackout, and two American officials urged Israel to have communications back up as soon as possible.
The blackout started panic for the entire Gaza strip and in isolation from the outside world, Gazza’s say they were living in an apocalyptic scene. Mr. Ah-Loh called the blackout a “war crime” and one where someone must take responsibility and hold themselves accountable, airsticks are still constantly happening over Gaza almost like they want to erase the entire strip. Since the war has started, more that 8,000 people in Gaza have been murdered, and almost 3,000 of which have been children. The behavior during and after the blackout was worrying, people broke into a warehouse run by the UN and stole wheat flour and other basic survival supplies, some believe civil order is starting to break down in Gaza while tensions and fear continue to rise.
The amount of violence and turmoil growing in the region leaves some to believe the invasion will be successful and a lot of innocent civilians will be murdered. The international community does not want another mass genocide and if this does occur, we must either stop this invasion now and/or hold Isreal accountable for their actions and I do believe in the future the International Criminal Court will take a look at the true horror scene in the Gaza strip and hold main actors in the war responsible. As mentioned before, the war going on in the region is one of the biggest global challenges of 2023 and has been talked of many times by world leaders and other global actors. There are a lot of Intergovernmental organizations as well as non-governmental organizations that have a big role in this war, supplies resources to the Gaza strip and helping injured and wounded Palestinians.