2023-12-27 12:45:00
Electronic chips are a means of communication for the residents of the Gaza Strip with the world
The electronic SIM card (eSIM) has become the only means for many residents of the Gaza Strip to communicate with their relatives or transmit the events of the war between Israel and Hamas, in light of the frequent outages of the telephone and Internet networks.
On Tuesday, communications and Internet services were completely cut off in the besieged sector, for the fourth time since the outbreak of war on October 7, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
These SIM cards have become a means of communication with the world for many residents of the Gaza Strip following relatives or acquaintances bought them abroad. The chips work according to a simple principle: to operate them, the user must scan the “Quick Response Code” (QR code) sent from abroad using the mobile phone camera, which allows him to be connected to an external telephone network, which is often Israeli, and sometimes Egyptian.
Journalist Hani Al-Shaer (35 years old) told Agence France-Presse, “We have no choice in light of the interruption of communications and the Internet in the Gaza Strip but to use these SIM cards.”
While stressing its importance in helping to “transmit sound and images,” he considered that “without this service, we would have been cut off from the world on the professional and personal levels as well.”
The war broke out between Israel and Hamas on October 7, following an unprecedented attack launched by the movement on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.
The unprecedented attack led to the death of regarding 1,140 people in Israel, the majority of whom were civilians, according to official Israeli figures. About 250 people were taken hostage, 129 of whom are still in Gaza, according to the same sources.
Israel responded with intense and devastating bombardment on the Gaza Strip, and began ground operations in late October, causing the deaths of 20,915 people, the majority of whom were women and children, according to the latest Hamas government figures.
The war caused a severe humanitarian crisis that included the displacement of 1.9 million people, constituting 85 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population, according to the United Nations. Israel also tightened its blockade and restricted the entry of aid.
In light of the widespread destruction that affected large areas, Samar Labad, who lived in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, confirmed that she “lost contact with everyone for more than a week.”
The 38-year-old housewife, who is currently displaced to the city of Rafah (south) with her three children, explained that her brother, who lives in Belgium, “sent an electronic chip to me to provide the Internet so that we can communicate with each other.”
She continued, “Contact is not constant, but it is sufficient for the purpose. At least we communicate with each other to reassure, even if it is not continuous.”
Despite this, Labad is unable to contact other relatives currently in Khan Yunis, the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip and where military operations have been concentrated for days.
She added, “But I check on them through this service available with one of the people who lives with them because his phone supports it.”
Obtaining the electronic chip does not guarantee the availability of the communication service, as it is only possible in areas close to the border with Israel, or requires moving to high places to be able to receive a good signal.
In his mobile phone store in the city of Rafah (south), Ibrahim Mukhaimer receives many journalists and correspondents. He stressed that these people are “the group that uses the electronic chip the most because of the transfer of the press image to the outside world in light of the occupation’s efforts (for) the Gaza Strip to be ignored and for the outside world to not support the sector, which does not have any necessities for life.”
In addition to journalists, Mkhaimer confirmed that these slides are popular with “ambulance and civil defense personnel who want to know the locations of the bombing in order to help those they can provide assistance to,” as well as from workers with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) “in order to direct goods… And aid goes to the right places in order to save people.”
While the SIM cards aim to compensate for communications outages, the irony remains that their operation depends on the availability of the Internet, which requires “two or three hours,” according to photojournalist Yasser Qudeih.
He continued, “We resorted to working using electronic SIM cards due to the interruption of communication and Internet services… but we struggle to receive a good signal to be able to send our press materials, as these SIM cards require presence in high and open places for the signal to be good.”
Qudaih explained that the price of the SIM card “ranges between 15 and 70 dollars, depending on its speed and duration,” between a week and two months.
For his part, Al-Shaer stressed that “electronic chips for us as journalists are considered straws that we have no (choice) but to cling to to be able to work.”
Human Rights Watch warned in late October that cutting off communications in Gaza may serve as a “cover for mass atrocities and contribute to impunity for human rights violations.”
In addition to their role in conveying the image of the war, Palestinian journalists in Gaza, who have an electronic chip, have become a link between the residents of the Gaza Strip and their relatives abroad.
Hani Al-Shaer explained, “Many expatriates contact us to find out news regarding the Gaza Strip and news of their families, and we reassure them regarding the bombing sites and news of their families in light of the interruption of this Palestinian network and the fact that only electronic SIM cards remain connected to international cellular networks.”
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