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<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip caused the territory to lose internet connectivity on Oct 24, according to Palestinian authorities and at least one internet traffic organization.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">The blackout comes as Israel increased its bombing of the Gaza Strip on Friday in response to the attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">It would make it much more difficult for Palestinians living there to interact with the outside world.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center"><img alt="Internet blackout in Gaza as Israel expands operations" src="http://gospeedcheck.com/filemanager/data-images/imgs/20231129/gaza-faces-an-internet-outage-as-israel-expands-operations%20(1).jpg" style="height:400px; width:640px"></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:center"><em>Internet blackout in Gaza as Israel expands operations</em></p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">According to a translation of the post, the Palestinian telecoms operator Paltel said on X that "the heavy bombardment of the last hour has caused the destruction of all remaining international tracks linking Gaza to the outside world." </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Paltel was the last significant telecom company to operate in the Gaza Strip, according to internet surveillance company NetBlocks.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">A Paltel employee told POLITICO that repairs were improbable because of the continuous shelling and a shortage of materials and equipment. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">The individual spoke anonymously because they were not allowed to speak to the media. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">He added that the company's employees in Gaza were seeking refuge and finding it difficult to communicate.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">The shutdown may be a prelude to the much-awaited ground assault on Gaza, where citizens have already lost a great deal due to airstrikes and targeted assaults. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Ground forces in Gaza are "expanding their activity," according to Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Daniel Hagari, who also said that the IDF "is acting with great force... to achieve the objectives of the war."</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">During the Israel-Hamas conflict, assaults on critical infrastructure have been commonplace. </p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">As part of the Oct. 7 raid, at least four Israeli communications towers on the Gaza border were reportedly taken down by Hamas.</p>

<p dir="ltr" style="text-align:justify">Read more: <strong><a href="https://gospeedcheck.com/article/tests-of-themed-icons-for-facebook-and-instagrams-android-apps-are-underway-1256">Facebook and Instagram are Experimenting Themed Icons</a></strong></p>
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