Embedded SIM cards help war-torn Gaza connect with rest of the world

eSIM cards provide Palestinians in Gaza with access to the Internet & communication with loved ones abroad, despite power cuts & war.

Power cuts have become a fact of life in war-torn Gaza. But thanks to embedded SIM (eSIM) cards, Palestinians can still access the Internet and stay in touch with loved ones abroad.

“Without them, we would be cut off from the world,” said Hani al-Shaer, a local journalist who depends on eSIM cards to do his live streams.

“And no one would know what was happening in Gaza,” he added, just as the besieged territory on December 26 experienced the latest in a series of telecom breakdowns since the war began. The war erupted after the Hamas attack on October 7 killed around 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to a tally based on the latest Israeli figures. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has led a massive air and ground campaign against the militants in retaliation.

The offensive has left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and killed at least 21,110 people, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Human Rights Watch has warned that phone and Internet disruptions in Gaza could “provide cover for atrocities and breed impunity while further undermining humanitarian efforts and putting lives at risk”.

Internet and telephone services that were cut on Tuesday were gradually being restored in central and southern areas of Gaza, the Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel said on social media platform X.