Digital Rights Weekly Update: 13 - 19 June

Total Internet Blackout Expands Across Gaza, Threatening Complete Telecommunications Collapse

7amleh

Today, Gaza faces a complete shutdown of all internet and fixed-line communications across the entire Strip. Mobile services remain barely operational but are under severe strain and risk imminent failure. No redundancy remains in Gaza’s telecom infrastructure, meaning there are no backup routes or systems left to absorb the collapse. Close sources confirm to 7amleh that telecommunications providers cannot carry out essential repairs due to a lack of replacement materials caused by the ongoing blockade, and systematic obstruction by Israeli forces, who are preventing access to damaged infrastructure and denying entry to needed equipment.

Big Tech’s New Ambitions: The Bloody Adventures of AI

The Wire

What exactly are their cloud systems doing and what exactly are they offering in tenders to the governments at war? +972 magazine’s investigation published in August 2024, sheds light on Amazon’s cloud system and its role in the ongoing genocide in Gaza. A cloud storage service not only means a place to store your data online, but also servers that can be accessed offline, and managed by a third party for the armies purchasing them. +972 magazine’s investigation shows how Israel’s constant and expanding need to update information on civilians in Gaza led it to Amazon’s cloud. This cloud offered Israel access to not only unlimited storage for its vast amount of data but also advanced AI capabilities already developed by Amazon. It is often a top guarded secret what the terms of services are between these tech firms and Israeli army, but one thing is clear that it is through these that mass surveillance of Gaza’s population has been possible, on AWS managed servers. And to manage all this, Amazon and Google had to open two data centres in Israel.

OpenAI Signs $200 Million Deal with US Pentagon, Raising Alarm

MWN

These developments raise alarm over the rapid militarization and weaponization of AI, especially as these technologies are already deployed in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. OpenAI has been linked to the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) through collaborations with companies like Microsoft, contributing to the development and deployment of AI systems such as Gospel and Lavender. These systems have reportedly been used to identify, track, and target individuals and civilian structures in Gaza, including homes, residential buildings, and even aid workers—playing a direct role in facilitating Israel’s genocide. Meta has long enforced systemic censorship against pro-Palestinian content since October 2023. Human Rights Watch has documented how Meta’s platforms—including Facebook and Instagram—have suppressed posts about Palestinian human rights, peaceful protests, and documentation of abuses, driven by flawed moderation policies, over-reliance on automated tools, and likely government influence.

Are AI-generated images distorting the story of Gaza-bound Somoud convoy?

The New Arab

Amid the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) craze, even the most earnest causes—such as the grassroots Maghreb-led convoy aiming to break Israel's siege on Gaza—find themselves ensnared in a flood of AI-generated synthetic visuals, fuelling a stream of misinformation that often undermines the very movements they claim to support. One image, in particular, has sparked controversy. It depicts endless rows of cars packed with faceless activists waving Palestinian, Tunisian, Algerian, and several unidentifiable flags, all set against a cinematic backdrop of Saharan dunes. The image, purportedly showing the Gaza-bound "Somoud" convoy, went viral on Tuesday. Its origin remains unclear. While some viewers were immediately sceptical of the surreal scale portrayed, others raised concerns over the logistical and security implications such a caravan might pose in transit through regional countries.

Connectivity is a Lifeline, Not a Luxury: Telecom Blackouts in Gaza Threaten Lives and Digital Rights

Electronic Frontier Foundation

For the third time since October 2023, Gaza has faced a near-total telecommunications blackout—plunging over 2 million residents into digital darkness and isolating them from the outside world. According to Palestinian digital rights organization 7amleh, the latest outage began on June 11, 2025, and lasted three days before partial service was restored on June 14. As of today, reports from inside Gaza suggest that access has been cut off again in central and southern Gaza. Blackouts like these affect internet and phone communications across Gaza, leaving journalists, emergency responders, and civilians unable to communicate, document, or call for help. Cutting off telecommunications during an active military campaign is not only a violation of basic human rights—it is a direct attack on the ability of civilians to survive, seek safety, and report abuses. Access to information and the ability to communicate are core to the exercise of freedom of expression, press freedom, and the right to life itself.