Israel will use the service for emergency backup communications.
Elon Musk’s Starlink received a license to operate in parts of Israel and the Gaza Strip after agreeing to take a series of steps to prevent Hamas from accessing its satellite internet service.
The Israeli Communications Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the service will be made available to some authorities in Israel and that the government approved its use at a field hospital run by the United Arab Emirates in southern Gaza.
Starlink will begin selling terminals through an Israeli subsidiary in the coming weeks and will initially be limited to a list of approved customers in Israel, including local councils and government agencies.
“Units supporting humanitarian causes in the Gaza Strip will be individually approved only after the Israeli security forces have confirmed that they are authorized entities and there are no concerns about the risk or possibility of endangering national security,” Communications Minister Shlomo Kahi said in a statement. .”
Starlink services are increasingly used in conflict zones to provide internet services to areas where infrastructure has been damaged, including military units. Musk launched Ukraine’s satellite service within months of Russia’s invasion of the country. Ukrainian intelligence services say that Russian troops are currently using Starlink terminals on the front lines.
Israel will use the service for emergency backup communications but needs assurances from parent company SpaceX that Hamas, the group that controls Gaza and has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, will not be able to access the service.
A spokesperson for the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 10th that the UAE will cooperate with international and regional organizations to launch this service at its Gaza field hospital.
The war between Israel and Hamas began with an attack on October 7 when Palestinian militants invaded southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. According to Hamas health authorities, Israeli ground and air operations in Gaza have killed more than 28,000 Palestinians.
Musk has been eager to demonstrate his alliance with Israel in recent months, visiting the country in November and visiting some of the sites of massacres in the country’s south. The billionaire has been criticized for amplifying anti-Semitic content on his social platform X and allowing hate speech to flourish on the site formerly known as Twitter.
We want to help the Israeli people and, as discreetly as possible, help innocent civilians in Gaza.
This approval was given by @Israel Thank you so much.
In dire situations like this, we should strive to perform visible acts of kindness whenever possible.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 14, 2024
Musk had previously suggested he could open Starlink services to aid groups in Gaza, but backed off after a strong response from Israeli officials.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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