Internet, phone outages have cut off Gazans from the outside world and even their loved ones

When Dunia'sgreat-aunt was killed in Gaza, it took her three days to find out.

It wasn't until locals from the north evacuated and came to find her familythat theylearned the news.

"They came to the area we're staying in, they looked for us and once they found us, they told my mom and my grandfather that his sister was killed," Duniasaid. CBC News is not providing her full name because she fears for her safety during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Telecommunications in Gaza were cut off on Oct. 27 as the IsraelDefence Forces announced it was expanding ground operations, which were launchedsoon after an Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Days later, many people were still disconnected, leaving 22-year-old Duniaand her family in isolation.

They're among thousands of Gazans who aren't able to hear about the deaths of family members until days later.

LISTEN | Dunia had to wait for days to learn that a family member was killed:

CBC News3:42When Dunia's great-aunt was killed in Gaza, she had no way of knowing

Dunia describes waiting three days to hear about the death of one of her own family members.

Struggle to stayconnected

Dunia once lived in the heart of Gaza City. But shortly after Oct. 7, she and her parents fled to a nearby friend's house and thento afriend's chalet, where she currently resides with 50-pluspeople.

The architecture studentspoke to CBC News using an eSim card one tool helping thousands in the region stay connected despite the ongoing outages.

"It's an electronic SIM and we can connect with a QR," Duniasaid. "I can go outside the house I'm staying in, look for a service point and get connected. Then I have the Wi-Fi."

But sometimes it fails to work. The eSIM might not be compatible with certain phones, and it can only be usedif someone purchases it outside of Gaza.

LISTEN | How eSims are helping some Gazans access their cellphones:

CBC News3:20Dunia explains how eSims are allowing Gazans to use their cellphones

eSims are helping some Gazans combat the lack of telecommunications. But it doesnt work for everyone, Dunia explains.

"That's how we can stay connected with the outside world," Duniasaid.

"We need someone to hear our voices. They did this ... to kill the voices of civilians who want to let the world hear that we are suffering here, that we are dying."

Airstrikes, lack of fuel are beingblamed

DuringHamas'sattack on Israel more than eight weeks ago, about 1,200 people, including several Canadians, were killed and 240 were taken hostage, Israel says. In Gaza, which has been ruled by Hamas since 2007, Palestinian health authorities deemed reliable by the United Nationsestimate that more than 15,900 people have been killed, and thousands more are feared buried under rubble as a result of Israel's response.

Israel'stotal siege on Gazahas resulted in food, water, electricity, medicine and fuel being cut off to the enclave. A limited number of aid trucks have been allowed to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt since Oct. 21.

According to Human Rights Watch, Israeliairstrikes and the scarcity of fuel are main triggers of the telecommunications blackout.

Soon after war broke out in Gaza, Paltel, the region's primary telecommunications company, was unable to provide reliable servicesto residents due to damage or destruction to key infrastructure.On Oct. 29, two days after telecommunications were cut off as airstrikes intensified, Paltelsaid services were gradually being restored, but a week later, contact was lost again.

The ability to connect to devices is sporadic, depending on the areawithin Gaza. For example, Duniasaidthe internet often worksfor just a couple of minutes at a time.Others on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, have reported complete blackouts.

But the current outage marks one example of communication challenges that residents of Gaza have experienced for decades.

A report by non-profit Access Nowsays the Israeli military has repeatedly caused internet disruptions since 2008.

During attacks since then in 2011, 2014 and 2021 Israel targeted "civilian internet infrastructure" and cut off electricity and fuel leading to disruptions of internet access and shutdowns of telecommunications.

'I had multiple nightmares'

Nisreen Shehada, a 26-year-old dentist who resided in the north of Gaza, said she once hoped to apply for a master's degree and a variety of scholarships that open for registration in the fall.

After her workplace and her house were bombed, she eventually had to evacuate south with her husband's family. But her father insisted on staying put refusing to leave his roots in the north.

"It was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make," Shehadasaidaboutleaving her parents and siblings in northern Gaza.

LISTEN | For Nisreen Shehada, not knowing if family was alive has taken a toll:

CBC News1:22During Israels bombardment, Nisreen Shehada is living the hardest time of her life

Sometimes, Shehada had no way of telling if her family was alive. Those days were among the hardest days of her life.

But even worse was the absence of online connectivity. For days, there was no way to knowwhetherher family was alive.

"When I moved to the south, the connections went down multiple times not just the internetbut also the cellular connections. So I couldn't contact or reach them for days," she said.

"Even when I had the chance to sleep, I had multiple nightmares over and over again," Shehadasaid. "So my mental health went down. My health in general went down."

At one point, theonly way to learn what was happening in her family's region, as well as her own, was to listen to the radio. "It was literally a torture to me," she said.

LISTEN | Woman says her mental health has suffered with lack of connection:

CBC News0:31For Gazans like Nisreen Shehada, the war is a blow to mental health

Shehadas mental health suffered amid internet disconnection. She notes nightly nightmares and panic attacks.

Radio service filling void

BBC World Service announced an emergency radio service for listeners in Gazaon Nov. 1. The serviceannounces information on where to access necessities like food and water, as well as information on where to safely shelter.

Elsewhere, radio services are available through local stations, with Al Jazeera launching a new broadcast through local station 93.9 FM.

Reading and watching the news can be nearly impossible due to poor service.Shehada's husband,Liwaa Joudeh, saidtheyreceive much of it from WhatsApp groups that share news from in and out of Gaza.

Sometimes, he and his wife can connect to the internet by using Wi-Fi extenders on the streets. They are luckier than most, he said.

"Some of my friends are in the dark because they are in other places that are not privileged with this service,"Joudeh, 29, said.

Others have becomecreative. One friend staying in Dunia's house receives news bulletins via a sister who lives in Saudi Arabia.

"In the morning when she receives the messages, she reads them to us, to hear the news," Duniasaid.

WATCH | Communications cut off as Israel expands Gaza ground operations:

Israel 'expanding' Gaza ground operations, communications cut off

10 months ago

Duration 3:13

Israel says it is 'expanding' ground operations in Gaza, but with communications cut off and much of the territory plunged into darkness, the full extent of its attack is unclear and the humanitarian situation is as desperate as ever.

Joudeh, an accounting lecturer at the now-bombed Al Azhar University-Gaza,said he can't even engage with the internet to take his mind off the war let alone to try to reach loved ones.

"I cannot even disconnect ... to take off some of the pain we're facing," he told CBC News via WhatsApp and text messages when service was available.

Watching the war from Canada

At home, Canadians are feeling similar sentiments.

Oftentimes, the only way to know if a family member is dead or alive is withthe ping of a Facebook message or a WhatsApp text.

Noor Youssef, who lives in Vancouver, said she communicates with a close cousin in Gaza over Instagram. She hears back aboutevery 48 hours. But when she doesn't, she said, it's easy to fearthe worst.

"I'll find myself sending multiple messages in a row, like, 'Please answer, are you OK? Just send me one message to say you're OK,'" she said.

When posting is possible, Youssef said,receiving information straight from the source has changed the way war zones are viewed on the internet.

"Getting to see those accounts from people who are there has been really valuable," she said.

Journalists and digital content creators inGaza includingPlestia Alaqad, Motaz Azaiza and Bisan Owda are immersed in the action, posting photos and videosdirect from the war zone.

Once posting photos of everyday life to thousands of people, some now have millions of followers on Instagram since the events of Oct. 7.

After a truce that began on Nov. 24 between Israel and Hamas ended after a week, Israel intensified bombing in Gaza including areas that it claimed were safe zones.

Owda and Azaiza have since taken to Instagram to say thatdocumenting what is happening could falter, as they contemplate whether they will survive this more intensephase of the war.

In a recent post, Azaizais shown bringingwater to his grandparents before an airstrike hits just metresaway from him. In it, he's seen tearing away as sirens blare in the distance and people escape the dust pulling children from collapsed buildings.

Youssefsaid his work providesa vital representation of "what's actually happening there."

"Anybody who's got a smartphone can just take it out and start filming," she said, "and show evidence of what's going on."