PALESTINE

Sat 28 Oct 2023 9:50 am - Jerusalem Time

Human Rights Watch: Communications outage in Gaza threatens to hide “mass atrocities”

Human Rights Watch, an organization concerned with defending human rights, warned today, Saturday, on its official website, that the disruption of communications and the Internet in the Gaza Strip, which is subject to intense Israeli bombing, may constitute a “cover for mass atrocities.”


Deborah Brown, an official at this international organization, said in a statement issued today, Saturday, that the loss of information may serve as a "cover for mass atrocities and contribute to impunity for human rights violations."


For its part, Amnesty International said that it had lost contact with its employees in Gaza.


The non-governmental organization expressed its regret that "this communication breakdown means that it will become more difficult to obtain necessary information and evidence related to human rights violations and war crimes committed against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, and to hear directly from those who are subjected to these violations."


In turn, the "NetBlox" service, which monitors Internet connectivity, spoke of "the collapse of communication in the Gaza Strip."


According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), several UN agencies have lost contact with their teams in Gaza.


OCHA Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Lynn Hastings explained that humanitarian operations and hospital activities “cannot continue without communications.”


The Palestinian Red Crescent also announced on its website


The Red Crescent added that this "affects the central emergency number 101 and impedes the arrival of ambulances to the injured" in light of the continuing raids, expressing its "deep concern" about the ability of doctors to continue providing care under these circumstances, as well as about the safety of its employees.

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Human Rights Watch: Communications outage in Gaza threatens to hide “mass atrocities”