A Palestinian journalist tries to connect his mobile phone to read electronic cards in Rafah (French)

Gaza -

Abdel Hadi Okal climbs onto the roof of a destroyed house in the Tal al-Zaatar area of ​​the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, in order to obtain the Internet via an electronic chip, which has become the only means of communication for Gazans in the northern Strip with the world.

As a result of the repeated interruption of communications and Internet services since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, the majority of Gazans learned - for the first time - of electronic SIM cards (E-SIM) or “SIM” cards ( SIM) to stay connected to the Internet for humanitarian or professional purposes.

For Okal, “this SIM card is a treasure for everyone who owns it in the areas of the northern Gaza Strip,” which are isolated from the world due to the complete cutting off of communications and the Internet, due to the massive destruction caused by the Israeli war machine.

Not all mobile phones support the feature of accepting electronic SIM cards, which is limited in the Gaza Strip (French)

Life-threatening mission

Okal's house is located in a low area in the Jabalia camp, and he is forced to climb daily onto the roof of a partially destroyed house, as a result of an Israeli air strike in the nearby "Tal al-Zaatar" area, so that he can receive a signal that connects him to the Internet, to check on his family and loved ones, displaced in the south of the Gaza Strip, and residing outside it.

The man refused to leave his home, and he and a number of his family members insisted on staying in Jabalia camp, while his mother, sisters, and others were displaced to the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

He told Al Jazeera Net, "Thanks to this SIM, I have become the mediator between the North and the South, as well as with cousins ​​and friends in the West Bank and outside the country. They communicate with me to check on each other through me, in light of the deterioration of communications and Internet services through Palestinian networks."

The mission of Okal and others in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip to obtain the Internet is not an easy task, and it is fraught with many risks. Some of them paid with their lives as a result of the occupation army targeting them. Among them were journalists who were injured while searching for a high place where there was a transmission signal, via Communication network is available to access the Internet.

Okal stayed for about two hours on the roof of that destroyed house, following news and developments, and communicating with family and friends. He described this daily task as dangerous, and he could not protect himself from the occupation planes that roamed the Gaza Strip’s airspace around the clock. However, he said, “The adventure is worth it, in order to survive.” “I keep in touch with my family and friends and continue my work.”

"contact point"

To get Internet access through this SIM card, photojournalist Omar Al-Qattaa walks a long distance from the Al-Daraj neighborhood to Al-Jalaa Street, where his relatives have a high-rise house. He told Al Jazeera Net, "I have to go up to the roof of the fourth floor and stay for a long time. I can hardly get a signal to connect to the Internet, and its quality is poor, and it takes a lot of time and effort to upload high-quality photos and send them."

Omar and his family are currently residing with his wife’s family, in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, east of Gaza City, after the destruction of his residential apartment. He is keen to finish his work before sunset, because the night brings with it severe dangers.

Omar describes himself as having become a “point of communication” between family and friends inside and outside the Gaza Strip thanks to this SIM card. He says, “People in Gaza are like a drowning man who clutches at a straw in order to survive, and this SIM card is the straw that keeps them alive on the Internet and continuing to communicate and check on each other.” .

As for Umm Qusay, the electronic chip was her only way to maintain contact with her four children who study and reside in Arab and European countries. She told Al Jazeera Net, "I lived through days of terror and anxiety for my children, when the occupation completely cut off communications and the Internet from Gaza for the first time in the first weeks of the war."

This forty-year-old woman, displaced from the northern Gaza Strip to the city of Rafah, adds, "It was an unprecedented experience. I lost all means of communication with my children, and I had never known about electronic chips before, until a friend introduced me to a campaign by an Egyptian volunteer who supports the people of Gaza with these chips."

Because these SIM cards only work on advanced types of smart mobile phones, Umm Qusay does not have one of them. She needed to set them up and activate them on her husband’s phone, and struggled to pick up a call signal from one of the Israeli telecommunications companies to get the Internet.

The initiative of the Egyptian activist Mirna Al-Helbawy contributed to the distribution of more than 150,000 electronic chips to the people of Gaza (social networking sites)

"Gaza delivery"

The Egyptian volunteer that Umm Qusay referred to is the activist Mirna Al-Halabawi, who founded the “Connect Gaza” initiative, which is a popular initiative that uses electronic “E-SIM” chips (E-SIM) or “virtual” SIM cards (SIM) To help Gazans avoid communications interruptions and stay in touch with each other and the outside world, in light of an Israeli war that has long destroyed towers, transmission stations, and networks of Palestinian telecommunications companies.

This initiative is one of many individual and collective initiatives that have appeared since communications and the Internet were cut off for the first time last October, and its importance has increased with the repeated cuts 10 times and for varying periods, the last of which was for 7 days during this January.

In a video clip in English that she posted on her Instagram account, on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the launch of the initiative, Mirna says, “From October 28 to today, more than 150,000 electronic chips have been distributed to the people of Gaza. Because it is the only means of communication, whether between them, or with the world, due to Israel’s continuous cutting off of communications and the Internet.”

To make it easier for those wishing to obtain this SIM card, Mirna placed in her message box the phrase “Possible for an electronic SIM card,” and by clicking on it, the request will go to the initiative.

Mirna sent a message of thanks and gratitude to the supporters of the initiative, which has cost so far about $4 million, and said, “Your support saves lives... Your support maintains communication between families and loved ones, and your support is the only way for journalists and medical teams to reveal what Gaza is being exposed to, and it is the only way for a voice to remain.” Gaza, maintain the connection for Gaza and humanity.”

Source: Al Jazeera