Google Maps turns off live traffic information in Israel and Gaza

Mapping provider says it has done this 'previously in conflict situations'
By Adam Hill October 26, 2023 Read time: 1 min
'Temporarily disabled' for 'safety of local communities' (© Bigtunaonline | Dreamstime.com)

Google has disabled its live traffic reports on Google Maps in Israel and Gaza.

“As we have done previously in conflict situations and in response to the evolving situation in the region, we have temporarily disabled the ability to see live traffic conditions and busyness information in Israel and Gaza out of consideration for the safety of local communities," says a Google spokesperson.

"Anyone navigating to a specific place will still get routes and ETAs that take current traffic conditions into account.”  

Israel has been expected to launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip following the attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas on 7 October.

Live traffic updates can reveal large concentrations of people and troop movements: mapping companies including TomTom made a similar decision to suspend services after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

GIS/ Mapping & Location Based Systems

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Orange County to manage traffic with trial interoperable CCTV
    September 12, 2014
    Interoperable CCTV can provide early warning of problems and help improve traffic management and incident response as Morteza Fahrtash and Carlos Ortiz explain. California’s transportation system is one of the state’s defining features and Caltrans (California Department of Transportation) strives to improving mobility across the state through the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the network of highway, freeways, toll roads and expressways.
    Read More
  • Getting more for less from traffic data
    August 15, 2012
    Collection of traffic and transit data has grown significantly, combining with advances in connectivity and computational modelling to good effect. Desire to do more with less – to make budgets go further – has helped create a boom in the collection and study of traffic and transport data. Studies are becoming longer, greater in number and further in-depth as more intelligence is sought, plus, transportation agencies are looking to make processes of data collection less costly, or more efficient.
    Read More
  • Driverless vehicles just around the corner?
    February 28, 2013
    umors that self-driving taxis are about to hit the streets of Las Vegas have turned out to be untrue… but the age of the driverless vehicle is only just around the corner, as Pete Goldin finds out. From Herbie the Love Bug to Knight Rider to the cast of the Pixar film Cars, the autono­mous auto has long been a beloved icon in the entertainment industry. But how close is the fiction to fact? The general public might be surprised to find out just how soon autonomous vehicles could be driving on our roadways.
    Read More
  • US 511 system, the future of traveller information?
    April 23, 2013
    What started out at the turn of the millenium as a simple dial-up travel information service has grown out of all recognition in the digital age. Pete Goldin surveys the development to date of the US 511 traveller information system. In a little over a decade, 511 has gone from its original intent – a collection of recorded messages accessible via phone for pre-trip planning – to a network of dynamic traveller information services provided by states and cities throughout the US, offering access to a wide v
    Read More

Highlighted Content