Amid the struggle to survive Israel’s ongoing military attacks – which have left over 25,000 dead and more than 7,000 missing in Gaza – and the deprivations of a genocidal siege, Palestinians in Gaza have also struggled to maintain internet access. According to the cybersecurity monitoring group NetBlocks, Gaza has suffered nine communications blackouts since October 7. Most of Gaza’s 550 cell towers have been partially or completely damaged. The mass displacement of Palestinians from northern and central Gaza to southern areas of the strip has overwhelmed Gaza’s remaining network capacity.
Communications blackouts and attacks on electronic infrastructure obstruct the efforts of Palestinians who are documenting Israeli atrocities, as well as stories of Palestinian love, solidarity, and survival on social media. Given that international media are barred from entering Gaza unless they are embedded with IDF forces, the work of Palestinian journalists, media workers, and other frontline storytellers has been especially crucial, allowing the world to witness an ongoing genocide through the eyes of those experiencing it.
Disruptions in cell phone and internet service also prevent Palestinians in Gaza from contacting loved ones or using their phones to request or coordinate rescue efforts. As Egyptian writer and activist Mirna El Helbawi explained on the podcast Marketplace Tech, in the modern world, “The right for communication and internet access now is like the same right for food and water and a proper way of living.”
Appalled by attacks on Palestinian internet infrastructure, El Helbawi founded #ConnectingGaza to get eSims directly to people in Gaza. eSims are digital SIM cards which can be accessed by scanning a QR code. Using eSims, people in Gaza may be able to pick up a roaming signal from Egyptian or Israeli internet networks.
For disability justice organizers Jane Shi, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Alice Wong, the distribution of eSims, as a form of mutual aid, presented a rare opportunity to provide material support to Palestinians in Gaza. Together, the three launched an effort called “Crips for eSims for Gaza.” In a collectively authored blog post, the three organizers talked about Gaza as a frontline in the struggle for disability justice and disabled survival, writing:
We also recognize that everyone in Gaza is now disabled due to the massive number of deaths, new disabilities, life-threatening illnesses and destruction of medical facilities going on. Such destruction also debilitates the........