Darkness Hides Gaza’s Agony
Last Thursday, following a lengthy blackout last Thursday, internet connectivity briefly returned to Jabaliya in northern Gaza, allowing Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif to convey the grim reality of his community’s experience during the offline hours. He reported that Israeli airstrikes had ravaged multiple homes in the al-Hawaja neighbourhood, claiming or injuring around 150 lives. The precise toll remains unknown due to limited access to emergency services, worsened by a siege enforced by Israeli tanks and ground troops, which has cut off access to much-needed aid for trapped civilians. Civil defence teams and medics, unable to enter the area to assist the wounded, were left helpless. Al-Sharif, the only journalist in the vicinity, shared his perspective in a video filmed on a desolate, darkened street, stating, “No civil defence, no coverage, nothing but death and destruction. No one is coming to save them.”
Communication Blackouts Amplify Gaza’s Humanitarian Crisis
As the crisis in Gaza unfolds, blackouts are playing a critical role in deepening the humanitarian catastrophe. With Israeli forces regularly targeting communication infrastructure and jamming internet and phone networks, reaching hospitals, coordinating aid, and reporting the situation has become near-impossible. During a year-long campaign against Hamas, Israel has intermittently blocked connectivity across Gaza, but since the group’s October 7th attacks, efforts to disable communication have intensified. Civilians, healthcare workers, and journalists on the ground in north Gaza describe a deteriorating situation that has made rescue efforts all but impossible. Basic communication between hospitals, health workers, and aid agencies is intermittent at best, with the scarcity of fuel and electricity only compounding the issue. This breakdown has rendered coordination for medical treatment and casualty tracking nearly unachievable, severely impacting life-saving efforts across Gaza.
The consequences of these communication blackouts extend far beyond delayed news coverage, as civilians trapped in northern Gaza struggle to connect with loved ones and access vital information. Anas Al-Sharif’s brief access to the internet last Thursday allowed a single glimpse into the trauma and bloodshed in al-Hawaja, yet this brief window highlights the untold stories of suffering that are happening out of sight and away from public awareness. Each new outage exacerbates the terror and isolation felt by those enduring constant bombardment without access to help, leaving them to confront mounting devastation without hope of aid.
Isolated Hospitals and Struggling Shelters Under Siege
In northern Gaza, hospitals, already under strain from shortages of medical supplies, face near-insurmountable challenges under siege. Hospitals and shelters, concentrated in areas such as Jabaliya, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun, have been targeted by ongoing air and ground assaults, forcing some facilities to shut down. Medical staff, overwhelmed and under-resourced, attempt to provide critical care amid power outages, depleted medical supplies, and the absence of safe transportation for patients. For four weeks, residents and doctors have been trying to survive amid shortages of food, water, and power, with airstrikes on hospitals and crowded shelters adding to their distress.
In Beit Lahia, pharmacist Raja and two friends improvised as first responders after a recent airstrike killed 40 people in the vicinity, with no ambulances available to transport the wounded. Without access to fully-equipped hospitals, they moved the injured using donkey carts, offering limited first aid at home as best they could. “One little boy with his skull open was still alive,” Raja said. “I don’t know how, but without ambulances, we lost many who could have been saved.” Her words reveal the harsh truth faced by medical personnel and volunteers on the ground, whose efforts to help are stymied by the inability to reach medical facilities or secure life-saving resources for the critically injured.
Emergency Response Crippled by Constant Shelling
Emergency services have struggled to operate under relentless shelling, with even basic equipment now in short supply. Last Wednesday, Israeli shelling destroyed the last fire truck available to civil defence teams in the north, leading them to suspend operations. Many residents remain trapped beneath debris as rescue teams face increasing peril. Constant shelling and targeted attacks have further discouraged emergency responders from risking entry into certain areas.
The Israeli siege and destruction of rescue equipment have created a situation where no organized response is available for even the most immediate crises. Jabaliya’s residents report that the once-reliable civil defence service has been crippled, unable to safely extract people trapped in collapsed buildings. With each day of fighting, the gap widens between the aid that residents desperately need and the services that can be provided, worsening the humanitarian toll of this crisis.
Rising Casualties Amidst Gaza’s Total Blackout
Northern Gaza has seen a steep rise in casualties under the renewed Israeli offensive, with Palestinian health officials reporting at least 800 deaths as of Tuesday, and many more injuries. The strikes continue to hit populated areas, including Beit Lahia, where recent attacks resulted in over 90 casualties in a single day. Reports from the region reveal that water shortages, worsened by blocked aid deliveries and ongoing sieges, have reached a dire level. Residents have resorted to drinking small amounts of untreated wastewater for survival, as clean water supplies ran out more than a week ago. Estimates suggest over 400,000 civilians in Gaza are enduring unprecedented conditions with no access to necessities.
Communication blackouts have also contributed to significant underreporting of the suffering in Gaza, as the lack of media coverage masks the true scale of destruction. As residents and humanitarian workers in the north face greater threats and fewer resources, the extent of the suffering caused by the conflict remains partially obscured. The Israeli military has denied attempts to force Palestinian residents from the northern regions to the relative safety of the south, though the widespread destruction of infrastructure in the north and restricted access to resources makes continued survival there increasingly difficult.
Targeting of Journalists and Press Freedom
Amid the blackout and siege, Israel’s efforts to restrict information flow from Gaza have extended to its press corps. Over the weekend, Israeli airstrikes killed five journalists, and Israel has accused several others remaining in northern Gaza of ties to Hamas or Islamic Jihad, exposing them to increased danger. Al Jazeera’s Anas Al-Sharif, whose reports shed rare light on the conditions in Jabaliya, has also drawn the label of a potential target from Israeli authorities. According to a report from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, at least 170 journalists lost their lives, and the conflict destroyed 86 media facilities.
The international community, including advocacy groups like Reporters Without Borders, has condemned these actions, viewing them as an attack on press freedom and an attempt to stifle the voices that document the conflict’s human toll. Fiona O’Brien, UK director of Reporters Without Borders, voiced deep concern, stating that linking journalists to terrorism without credible evidence only serves to increase the threat against them. O’Brien said, “Our investigations show that we targeted at least 32 because of their work, but we have had complete impunity.” For journalists on the ground, the fear of targeted violence adds to the challenge of reporting in an already hostile environment, further restricting global awareness of the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
In northern Gaza, the combination of communication blackouts, siege tactics, and targeting of journalists has shrouded the severity of the humanitarian crisis. For many, the blackout is both literal and metaphorical—a loss of visibility that conceals suffering and undermines the vital response efforts. In the growing silence, Gaza’s agony remains largely unseen, intensified by barriers that make rescue, reporting, and relief efforts nearly impossible.
