Cutting off the internet as a weapon of war: Israel deepens Gaza’s isolation

On Wednesday 17 September, Skyline International Human Rights Organization condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli authorities’ complete cutoff of internet and telecommunications services to the Gaza Strip, considering it a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a deliberate use of communications as a weapon of war.

Israel cutting off Gaza’s internet

The organization said in a statement that on September 17, 2025, the Palestinian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority announced a complete shutdown of internet and landline services in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, following the targeting of main network routes during intense Israeli attacks. It noted that this disruption was not the first of its kind, but rather part of a series of deliberate blockages imposed by Israel at times of escalating fighting, mass displacement, and rising numbers of casualties.

The statement added that the outage coincided with the expansion of Israeli ground operations in Gaza City and the issuance of mass evacuation orders that forced more than 400,000 Palestinians to flee south in recent days, at a time when airstrikes alone since Tuesday morning have killed at least 108 people.

Skyline emphasized that cutting communications at this critical time deprives more than two million civilians of a vital lifeline, as families are unable to call ambulances, medical teams lose their ability to coordinate, and humanitarian organizations are paralyzed. It also warned that this policy silences journalists and prevents documentation, allowing war crimes to be committed in the dark, away from the eyes of the world.

Violation of Article 19

The statement noted that hospitals in Gaza are at risk of collapse within days due to the Israeli blockade on fuel needed to operate generators, threatening to halt vital rescue services such as oxygen and ambulances, which would mean mass execution of patients.

The organization stressed that these interruptions violate Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom of expression and the right to access information. It also called for the immediate restoration of communications services, an end to the targeting of civilian infrastructure, and guarantees for the protection of journalists and humanitarian workers, as well as international investigations into the use of internet shutdowns as a weapon of war.

Skyline considered that the policy of isolating Gaza from the world is part of a broader strategy to conceal crimes and violations, stressing that its continuation means allowing atrocities to be committed without witnesses.

Featured image via the Canary