In a statement, Deborah Brown, an official at Human Rights Watch, said that this 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 NetBlocks 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. In a statement, Lyn Hastings, OCHA’s humanitarian coordinator, said humanitarian operations and hospital activities “cannot continue without communications.”
Likewise, the Palestinian Red Crescent 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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