Gaza Going Gaga over Non-Stop Connectivity Carfuffle

Can’t Surf the Web, Too Busy Dodging Airstrikes

On any other day in the Gaza strip, you’d likely catch folks surfing the web, streaming the latest episode of “Game of Thrones,” or desperately trying to crush candies on that popular mobile game. But today, it’s shifting from Wi-Fi signals to survival signals. Alas, your friendly neighborhood telecom provider Paltel is currently on a forced hiatus, thanks to a disruptive rain of airstrikes. Presumably less gentle than April showers, these particular showers have been causing “a complete disruption of all communication and internet services,” according to the trusty rumor-spreading machine, The Washington Post.

All Gone Dark in Gaza Bay

Memo straight from the Strip: Everybody’s stumbling around in the dark, as Israel’s clipped much of Gaza’s wire to the electricity pole this month. Folks have ditched their Google homes and are instead powering up generators to compensate for the lack of electricity, or as they fondly call it, the “great power not-so-much outage.”

Expanding ‘Ground Operations’ or Impromptu Game of Whack-a-Mole?

The Israeli Defense Forces, in a move as surprising as a watermelon-flavored starburst in your variety pack, announced they are “expanding ground operations” in the area. Unfortunately, this didn’t involve setting up picnics and initiating more friendly thumb wars, but perpetuating a near-total connectivity outage throughout the Gaza Strip which, as an aside, has absolutely nothing to do with Vegas.

Hot Take:

So, here’s a cheeky morsel to chew on: before Israel switched off the lights, nobody thought to save a few essential Netflix shows offline for the incoming darkness binge. When one’s hailstorm of adversity involves actual hail (and some extra unwanted explosives), disconnecting from the digital world is the last of your ‘hashtags.’ Is this some ingenious alien invasion plot going awry or just a really intense round of the longest-lasting game of Battleships? Enough with the exploding fireworks, folks, maybe it’s time to consider some digital diplomacy, instead. Alternatively, someone could invent airstrike-resistant Wi-Flares. Now, there’s a Kickstarter campaign waiting to happen.

Original article: https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/27/23935229/gaza-israel-internet-outage-connectivity-telecom-blackout