Musk criticized by Israel after offering to supply internet in Gaza

 October 30, 2023

Elon Musk prompts furious backlash from Israeli government after offering to supply internet services to Gaza

  • Elon Musk said that Starlink would support aid organizations operating in Gaza 
  • Israel publicly rebuked the move and said that it would fight the step
  • Mr Musk said that he would ‘take extraordinary measures’ to prevent its misuse

Elon Musk received a public rebuke from Israel’s communications minister after he announced on Saturday that SpaceX’s Starlink would support communications links in Gaza with ‘internationally recognized aid organizations’ operating there. 

Musk said in a post on social media platform X that it was not clear who has authority for ground links in Gaza, but we do know that ‘no terminal has requested a connection in that area’.

A telephone and internet blackout isolated people in the Gaza Strip from the world and from each other on Saturday, with calls all but impossible as Israel widened its air and ground assault.

International humanitarian organizations said the blackout, which began late on Friday, was worsening an already desperate situation by impeding life-saving operations and preventing contact with their staff on the ground.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to request for comment on how it would ensure any Starlink connection was used by aid organizations and not by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip.

Mr Musk said his Starlink satellites would help restore connectivity with aid organizations operating in Gaza

Mr Musk said that he would ‘take extraordinary measures to confirm that [Starlink] is used only for purely humanitarian reasons’. Pictured: An antenna of the Starlink satellite-based broadband system

Responding to Musk’s post on X, Israel’s communication minister Shlomo Karhi said Israel ‘will use all means at its disposal to fight this.’

‘HAMAS will use it for terrorist activities,’ Karhi wrote. ‘Perhaps Musk would be willing to condition it with the release of our abducted babies, sons, daughters, elderly people. All of them! By then, my office will cut any ties with starlink.’

The Tesla tycoon replied that he will ‘take extraordinary measures to confirm that it is used only for purely humanitarian reasons’.

Musk added: ‘Moreover, we will do a security check with both the US and Israeli governments before turning on even a single terminal.’

Following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Starlink satellites were reported to have been critical to maintaining internet connectivity in some areas despite attempted Russian jamming.

Since then, Musk has said he declined to extend coverage over Russian-occupied Crimea, refusing to allow his satellites to be used for Ukrainian attacks on Russian forces there.

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