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Gazans tune into airwaves to cut through static of war

Because of electrical outages, radio remains the most reliable way for Gazans to follow the news.
Veiw of the media complex (L) that houses the offices of Hamas-run Al Aqsa television and radio after it was targeted in an Israeli strike in central Gaza City early on July 29, 2014.  Israeli aircraft, tanks and navy gunboats pounded symbols of Hamas control in Gaza City in the heaviest night of bombardment in three weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting.  AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED ABED        (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)
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RAFAH, GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — As soon as Israel wages a war against the Gaza Strip, usually accompanied with a blackout, Gazans gather around radios to listen to local radio stations tracking the course of events, the radio broadcast becoming the first and main source of information.

Mohamed Abdel Razek from Rafah sees radio as his companion in times of war. “In addition to being a radio audience in times of peace, my family and I, just like all the residents of the Gaza Strip, rely on radio stations during war times to accurately keep track of the developments," he told Al-Monitor. "We live in constant wars. Radio stations are the only efficient means of information in light of power outages, to elicit news or deliver certain messages.”

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