As Gaza experienced a near-total communications blackout on Friday, a campaign began trending on social media platforms, calling on billionaire tycoon Elon Musk to power the bombarded enclave with Starlink internet.
The satellite internet venture operated by SpaceX is comprised of a “constellation of thousands of satellites” that orbit very close to Earth at about 550km (340 miles) from the surface, making it easier to provide internet services in rural and isolated regions of the world where the internet terminals and cables aren’t vital.
SpaceX CEO Musk initially responded to a post calling for Starlink support for Gaza, saying that it wasn’t clear who had authority for ground links in the besieged enclave and that “no terminals from Gaza have attempted to communicate with our constellation”.
After the calls for Musk to support communication in Gaza through Starlink gained momentum, the billionaire businessman announced that “Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza.”
Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight this. HAMAS will use it for terrorist activities. There is no doubt about it, we know it, and Musk knows it. HAMAS is ISIS.
Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight this.
HAMAS will use it for terrorist activities. There is no doubt about it, we know it, and musk knows it. HAMAS is ISIS.
Perhaps Musk would be willing to condition it with the release of our abducted babies, sons, daughters,… https://t.co/pRNOlnINbZ
— 🇮🇱שלמה קרעי – Shlomo Karhi (@shlomo_karhi) October 28, 2023
Elon, meanwhile, has responded,
We are not so naive. Per my post, no Starlink terminal has attempted to connect from Gaza. If one does, we will take extraordinary measures to confirm that it is used *only* for purely humanitarian reasons. Moreover, we will do a security check with both the US and Israeli governments before turning on even a single terminal.
A telephone and internet blackout isolated people in the Gaza Strip from the world and from each other on Saturday, with calls to loved ones, ambulances, or colleagues elsewhere 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.
