Power cuts have become a regular part of daily life in war-torn Gaza. However, with the use of embedded SIM (eSIM) cards, some Palestinians can still obtain internet access and sustain a vital channel of communication with loved ones abroad.
"Without them, we'd 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 Tuesday experienced the latest in a series of telecoms breakdowns since the war began.
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."
Vowing to destroy Hamas but decimating civilians and infrastructure, Israel has been conducting indiscriminate air and ground attacks in Gaza since Oct. 7 turning vast areas into ruins and killing at least 20,915 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 54,918 others, according to local health authorities.
Simple but vital idea
The idea behind the eSIM is simple: they are a software version of the chips traditionally inserted into phones to connect to cellular networks and the internet.
Embedded directly into a device, they can be activated using a QR code, which Gaza residents receive from family members living abroad.
The Gaza residents can then connect in roaming mode to a foreign network – often an Israeli one or sometimes Egyptian.
The eSIM has been a godsend, said Samar Labad.
The 38-year-old fled her home in Gaza City for the south, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have been living in makeshift camps.
Now in Rafah, she had lost contact with her family for over a week. But then her brother – who lives in Belgium – sent her an eSIM.
"The connection is not stable, but it does the trick," she said. "At least we can stay in touch to reassure each other, even if intermittently."
She also has loved ones in Khan Younis.
"I find out how they're doing from someone who lives with them, whose phone is eSIM-compatible," she said.
Service is only available in areas near the border with Israel. Otherwise, you must climb to the roof to catch a signal.
Search for victims
A local mobile phone store owner said his main customers are journalists who use eSIMs to provide the outside world with an accurate account of the situation in Gaza.
He said they provide vital communications with the outside world "that there is a lack of basic items necessary for survival" in the besieged territory.
His eSIM customers also include "doctors and civil defense employees who are looking to learn the exact location of strikes in order to help people," he said.
Employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) also use them to organize aid convoys.
While the cards help offset telecom outages, internet access is required to activate them in the first place.
The price varies from "$15 to $100, depending on how long they're valid for," said video journalist Yasser Qudieh.
He added that local journalists with eSIMs end up serving as messengers for others.
"Many expats get in touch with us to follow the latest news from Gaza and get information regarding their families," he said.