In tandem with the start of its ground operations on Friday, Israel cut off all internet, cellular, and landline services in Gaza.
Palestinians lost their access to the outside world – and to each other – and became more isolated under heavy Israeli bombardment that killed thousands and wounded many more.
The Palestinian Red Crescent could not reach its medical teams. Residents could not call ambulances, forcing rescuers to rely on explosion sounds to locate the injured.
International aid organizations could only communicate with a small number of their staff through satellite phones.
The abrupt loss of communication left relatives outside of Gaza in a state of panic, not knowing whether their loved ones had been caught in the bombardment or were still alive, as their messaging chats and phone calls with people inside Gaza were no longer going through.
News agencies could not reach their reporters, and only a few TV news stations could contact their crews.
Meanwhile, the eSims idea was suggested to El-Helbawi, one of those who were allowed to travel to the Rafah border crossing in protest of Israel refusing to allow aid on October 19, by one of her followers.
“We tried with the Egyptian Red Crescent and the Palestinian Red Crescent to fulfil SpaceX requirements,” El-Helbawi said.
Getting Starlink to Gaza was an extremely long procedure that required heavy tools to be in Gaza, she added.
According to Forbes, eSims are a digital version of the physical SIM card. They are programmable remotely via software and can be used in tablets, smartwatches, drones, and cars.
Already, El-Helbawi had hundreds of foreigners messaging her daily, wanting to help, so she reached out to her 751k and 190k followers on Instagram and X (previously Twitter), respectively:
PLEASE TAG THE PRESS MEMBERS TO HELP US COUNT THE NUMBER OF URGENT E-SIMS NEEDED IN GAZA. THOUSANDS OF EUROPEANS ARE WILLING HELP
HERE IS THE LINK: https://t.co/UNUliWU0Lp
— Mirna El Helbawi (@Mirna_elhelbawi) October 28, 2023
The response was overwhelming.
“Thousands of Europeans are ready to buy eSims for Gaza. Please help us,” El-Helbawi posted on X.
She sent the eSims first to press members and medical staff in Gaza “to combine them,” she said to AO. Afterwards, the priority went to “family individuals.”
El-Helbawi estimated that most eSims would work only for 20 or 30 days.
Among the first to receive eSims were journalists Hind Khoudary and Moataz Azaiza and doctors of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, she wrote on X.
El-Helbawi then teamed up with Speak Up, a feminist initiative that supports victims of violence, and collaborated with Simply, a tech startup specialized in local eSims, travel cards, and global-local plans, to provide thousands of eSims to Gaza.
In less than 24 hours, they raised over $70,000, which is the equivalent of +18,000 GBs, according to Simly.
While others jump on the eSims wagon with a $100 price tag, El-Helbawi said she connected people in Gaza for free.
“We do not take donations. We do not take money. We only receive the eSims purchased by people and send them to journalists and medical staff in Gaza,” she stated.
WE DO NOT TAKE DONATIONS. WE DO NOT TAKE MONEY.
— Mirna El Helbawi (@Mirna_elhelbawi) October 28, 2023
By Sunday, El-Helbawi triumphantly tweeted: “Hundreds in Gaza are getting connected.”
eSims came in from countries worldwide, including Canada, the US, Australia, and Mexico.
