Information
Elon Musk announced that Starlink satellite internet service has been activated in a hospital in the Gaza Strip with the cooperation of Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This development, facilitated by the UAE media office and the Israeli government, comes over five months after Israel approved the service for the hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza. Starlink, a network of satellites operated by Musk’s SpaceX, aims to provide internet connectivity to remote areas or regions with disrupted communication infrastructure. The UAE highlighted that this high-speed internet service would enable crucial medical consultations via real-time video calls, expressing gratitude to Musk for supporting their field hospital in Gaza.
The context of this development is the extensive destruction of health facilities in Gaza due to over nine months of ongoing conflict. The war escalated after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, leading to a significant Israeli military response. The conflict has resulted in substantial casualties, with over 39,000 Palestinians killed according to Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health authorities. Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the EU, the US, Germany, and several other countries, has also taken over 250 hostages, with around 120 still being held. The humanitarian impact and the destruction of health infrastructure have intensified the need for services like Starlink to support medical operations in the affected areas.
Source: Reuters
So what
This is a great move by Musk, not just for the positive media coverage but also for the positive benefit it will bring to the civilian population of Gaza. What will be interesting, and likely why the IDF has been involved in its set-up, is if Hamas attempts to use the internet connection for its communications. While it is probably impossible for the IDF to stop, it is likely they are going to actively monitor the connections to detect and disrupt any use by Hamas.
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