IDF Announces Evacuation of Northern Gaza on Social Media
With a near-total telecommunications blackout in Palestine, Gazans may not receive the orders.
The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) advised Gazans (DOA: 10/29/23 00:23) and others in the area to move south via Twitter (aka X). The “urgent plea" went out at 5:16 AM Pacific Time on October 28, 2013 as Israel expands its airstrike operations. The IDF did not share a time frame or designated routes for this evacuation on social media.
At this time, Gaza was experiencing a near-total telephone and Internet blackout. This blackout makes tasks such as making phone calls, sending Emails, and checking social media impossible. Many people questioned if anyone in Gaza would see this announcement in order to evacuate in a timely manner.
On Instagram, another platform on which the announcement was released, some users have speculated that the IDF would drop flyers in the area, but claims like these have not been confirmed or denied by the IDF. Others have pointed out that the IDF had advised Gazans to evacuate prior to the announcement issued on October 28. This previous announcement gave around 1 million people in Northern Gaza 24 hours to evacuate on roads in poor conditions.
Despite the blackout, some people in Gaza have been able to access the Internet, but only for short amounts of time and not reliably. One Palestinian American shared a voice note about her experience being trapped in Gaza. In her note, she says that air strikes were occurring near her area and that they were “targeting all the children”. The IDF denies allegations of targeting civilians.
