AFPC-USA Issues Statement on the Communications Blackout on the Gaza Strip

The following is a statement from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents (AFPC-USA) on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the communications blackout in Gaza, which has hampered the ability of journalists and other observers to communicate with the outside world.

The statement is as follows:

The Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA is critically concerned by reports of a near-total communications blackout imposed on the Gaza Strip as Israel expands its military assault in Gaza during what was already a catastrophe for Palestinian civilians there. The Association is alarmed that the cutoff in almost all communications through Internet and cellular network services impeded the work of journalists trying to keep the world informed about what is happening there as the death toll rises for civilians, many of them journalists. As of Oct. 29, we understand that at least 29 journalists, including 24 Palestinian, four Israeli and one Lebanese journalist have been killed during the recent violence in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon.  

Due to this communications blackout, journalists could not get their stories out, and misinformation and propaganda in Gaza were filling the vacuum, compounding a dangerous situation that is growing even more perilous. While some communications services are being restored, the Association condemns the media blackout and calls for a total restoration of communication so that independent journalists can provide the public with fact-based accounts of the unfolding human catastrophe.