Hamas comments on Gaza internet blackout

Hamas issued a statement on Thursday accusing the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) of intentionally severing communication lines in the Gaza Strip, calling it a deliberate and dangerous escalation in what it described as an ongoing campaign of genocide against Palestinians.

According to the group’s press release, the communications blackout is part of a broader effort by 'Israel' to “paralyze vital sectors,” particularly targeting the already-fragile medical and humanitarian systems within the besieged enclave.

Read more: Gaza faces total internet blackout after fiber optic cable attack

“The criminal Zionist occupation army has deliberately cut communication lines—yet another aggressive step in the ongoing genocidal war it is waging against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” the statement read. Hamas warned that this latest move threatens to intensify the already dire humanitarian crisis facing civilians, many of whom are trapped without access to medical care, aid, or emergency services.

The group also called on the international community to take immediate action. “We in the Hamas movement warn of the escalating threat to our people… and call on the international community to assume its responsibility in stopping the aggression,” the statement added, urging world powers to ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian infrastructure from what it called the “brutality of the fascist Zionist occupation.”

The press release follows reports from Palestinian authorities earlier in the day that Gaza had experienced a full communications blackout after what they described as an 'Israeli' strike on the enclave’s last remaining fiber optic cable.