Apple Maps in Israel and Gaza has disabled the display of real-time traffic data at the request of the Israel Defense Forces.
Google did the same for both Google Maps and Waze as tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers are expected to move into the Gaza Strip to hunt Hamas terrorists…
After a surprise attack by Hamas that killed nearly 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostage, Israel plans to send tens of thousands of troops to Gaza in an attempt to “root out” the terrorist group.
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Data Real-time traffic reports in mapping applications could potentially allow Hamas to track Israeli troop build-ups and movements.
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Our sister site 9to5Google reported yesterday that traffic data has been disabled in Google Maps and the Waze mapping apps.
Both Google Maps and Waze are currently disabled. Traffic alerts and data were turned off in some parts of Israel. The change removes real-time traffic data from Google Maps and also disables features in Waze […]
The company also confirmed to Bloomberg that the change was made at the request of the Israeli military “in anticipation of a potential ground invasion in Gaza.”
Google took the same actions when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Apple Maps Israel and Gaza
Israel blog GeekTime and The Hill have confirmed that Apple has taken the same action with Apple Maps in Israel and Gaza.
A test we ran showed that while they don't display a similar message for Waze, both Google Maps and Apple Maps have completely eliminated the ability to view traffic reports and their traffic maps are completely blank – so the new policy appears to prevail over all Google and Apple navigation products in Israel. That is, at this stage you have no alternative to check traffic load and danger warnings.
Timing& #39;s uncertain
The timing for Israeli action remains uncertain. While the US and other countries support Israel's right to go after Hamas terrorists, there is pressure behind the scenes to delay the move to allow more time to negotiate the release of the hostages and allow more aid in the area. /n>
