'Suddenly, they all stopped responding to my messages': Fears escalate for relatives in Gaza

Abeer Ayyoub, a journalist originally from Gaza now based in Turkey, had managed to remain in contact with her family back home despite the ongoing bombardment from Israel.

Last night, however, Israel shut off virtually all communication in the besieged enclave and began what some say is the heaviest assault since the latest round of violence began on 7 October.

She explained to Middle East Eye the fear, anxiety and concern for her family's safety that she experienced over the past 12 hours:

"My siblings and I had been discussing the possibility of an imminent ceasefire on our family WhatsApp group. Suddenly, they all stopped responding to my messages. At first, I assumed it was due to the blackout they'd been experiencing since day 3 of the war, with internet and phone services cut off in Gaza because of heavy bombardment that hit telecommunications providers.

"Prior to that night, I could reach my family once every two or three days, but some of them had been entirely out of reach since the war began. The situation became even more terrifying when news reports indicated that the heavy bombardments had not ceased for hours. Israel later announced its intention to begin a ground invasion in certain areas along the Gaza borders.

"I knew that no one could reach their families in Gaza, but I kept trying to call each of my family members, hoping they might somehow get their phones connected. I attempted to reach them for hours, but no one was reachable. My husband, Abdullah, also has family in Khanyunis, and he was worried about them, although he appeared calmer than I was.

"With phones not working, it became challenging for TV journalists to pinpoint the locations of the explosions. We had to rely on rumours circulating on social media, as there were individuals claiming to have internet access via Israeli SIM cards that only worked near the borders. Only one of my friends had a connection due to having an American SIM card, and she tried to reassure me that there were no bombings near my house, but she couldn't be certain.

"With nine siblings and many nieces and nephews living in different areas, I felt overwhelmed. Yara, my niece, lived in the northern Gaza Strip and had refused to evacuate her house. I was most worried about her and searched for her husband's family name among the list of people killed in that area.

"I couldn't help but think about the children and how they were coping. Fatin, who had evacuated to Al-Nusirat camp after her house in Al-Burij was destroyed, had two children with constant fevers due to fear. How were they managing? Siham lived near the seaport, an area hit by numerous artillery shells. Was she still alive, and had she lost any of her children? God forbid.

"Throughout the night, Abdullah and I watched Al-Jazeera, witnessing explosions throughout the Gaza Strip. However, we had no information on the exact locations of these bombings, and even Al-Jazeera's reporters were unable to provide precise details, only mentioning the general area within Gaza.

"Upon waking up the following morning, I found numerous messages from friends worldwide asking if I had been able to reach my family. Regrettably, I couldn't respond to any of them as I was overwhelmed. I began scouring the news for information on casualties, hoping not to find any of my relatives' names among the reports. I shared an Instagram story with my friends, stating that I couldn't contact my family, but 'all I know is that none of them has been reported killed so far.'"