Palestine: Israeli Bulldozers Blamed for Cutting Off Gaza Telecoms  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Reports are appearing online of a total communication blackout in Gaza. On Twitter, users are blaming Israeli bulldozers for the outage. Here is part of the conversation.
Egyptian Mohamed El Dahshan was among the first to break the news in a tweet:
@TravellerW: BREAKING – Israeli bulldozers break cables, sever ALL COMMUNICATIONS- mobile, landline, internet -from Gaza! http://t.co/ASIIQ1W #Palestine
JalalAK_jojo clarifies:
@JalalAK_jojo: Note: It's been almost 6 hours since Gaza went into a sudden communication blackout due to Israeli bulldozers communication networks.
And Israeli journalist Joseph Dana is confused:
@ibnezra:  According to reports on twitter, communications from Gaza have been cut off. Unclear if it is Israel which cut them off
From Jordan, Ali Abunimah checks if any of his Palestinian friends can read his tweets:
@avinunu: Friends in Gaza can you read this? Report that Israel has cut off all phone/internet communications
Benjamin Doherty posts similar concerns:
@bangpound: I’m checking up on my Gaza tweeps and none have said a thing in the last hour or so…
And Andy Carvin, NPR's senior strategist, replies:
@acarvin: @bangpound Twitter proximity search around Gaza. Not much posted. https://twitter.com/#!/search/near%3A%22gaza%22%20within%3A10mi
From the US, Darryl Li tweets his attempts to contact multiple landlines in Gaza, without much success.
@abubanda: Have tried dialing multiple landlines in #Gaza via skype, including UN offices, getting error messages — not even ringtones.
He continues:
@abubanda: So far, mobiles in #Gaza I have called have been giving me standard non-service messages
And half an hour later, he adds:
@abubanda: Still not getting any ringtones in #Gaza, except in one high-level UN office (sep network?). Have tried >30 numbers, landlines & mobiles
Meanwhile, Leila is angry and calls for action:
@LSal92: Unbelievable! Israel is trying to completely shut off Gaza from the rest of the world. Stop your silence! Speak up! #Gaza
In a short news article, Maan News also blames (Ar) Israeli bulldozers cutting off cables for the outage.