No text, no talk. Palestinians plunged into digital darkness in Gaza.

JERUSALEM — Cutting off an enemy’s communication lines is an ancient tool of war. But the near complete communications blackout in Gaza, as Israel expands its military campaign, has plunged residents into a deep digital darkness.

Before Friday night — when phone and internet connections were abruptly severed — you could be poor in Gaza, you could struggle to charge a battery, but if you had a mobile phone with a few minutes of credit, you could still make a call. Now those minutes are useless.