The Israeli government has approved the use of Starlink satellite internet services in both Israel and parts of the Gaza Strip, the country’s communications minister announced on Wednesday.
Elon Musk’s Starlink will support internet access at an Emirati-run field hospital in Gaza’s far-southern city Rafah, with further expansion in the besieged territory subject to Israeli approval.
Communications via satellite with broadband for the first time in Israel: The Communications Minister approved today Starlink’s operation in Israel.Local authorities, governmental bodies, and more will be able to have continued access to broadband services, even in the case of…— שלמה קרעי – Shlomo Karhi (@shlomo_karhi) February 14, 2024
“Starlink low latency high-speed connections will enable video conferencing with other hospitals and real-time remote diagnostics,” Israeli Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi said in a statement.
Starlink’s network of low Earth orbit satellites can provide internet to remote locations, or areas that have had normal communications infrastructure disabled. Access to reliable, high-speed internet will “enable potentially life-saving medical consultations via real-time video calling,” UAE Foreign Ministry spokesperson Afra Al Hameli said on social media, welcoming the deal.
#UAE Collaborating on Initiative to Provide #Starlink Internet Service at #UAE field hospital in the #Gaza StripThe UAE has announced that it is working in partnership with various international and regional organizations and hospitals to introduce SpaceX’s Starlink satellite…
— Afra Al Hameli (@AfraMalHameli) February 14, 2024
More than 28,000 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel’s retaliatory military campaign against the militant Palestinian group Hamas that runs the enclave following its deadly cross-border attack into southern Israel on Oct. 7, when it killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages.
Gaza’s hospitals have been overwhelmed by more than four months of war, during which 68,291 people have been wounded according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The United Nations estimated last week that there are no fully functioning hospitals left in the territory, with only 13 of 36 working at some capacity.
Musk, who owns Starlink operator SpaceX, had initially proposed extending access to Gaza aid organisations in October after UN agencies and NGOs reported losing contact with their Gaza teams during a communications blackout. Karhi objected at the time, saying Hamas militants would take advantage of the internet service.
After Musk visited Israel and toured sites of Hamas’s October 7 attack, Karhi said his country had reached an in principle understanding on the use of Starlink. “The units in the Gaza Strip for the purposes of humanitarian aid” will depend on Israeli security clearance, Karhi said. Musk wrote on his social media platform X that he “greatly appreciated” Israel’s move, and hoped it would help both Israelis and “innocent civilians in Gaza”.
(With agency inputs)
Comments
0 comment