How Starlink will work in Gaza
Israel will allow a United Arab Emirates field hospital in the Gaza Strip to use Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi announced yesterday.
Starlink, the satellite internet service from Elon Musk's SpaceX company, will operate in Gaza.
Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi announced yesterday that the country will allow a United Arab Emirates field hospital in the Gaza Strip to use Elon Musk's service.
According to Karhi, Israel must approve any use of the service in Gaza under the agreement between Starlink and the Israeli government.
It was October when Musk announced that he would allow his Starlink satellite network to support communications in Gaza for "internationally recognized humanitarian organizations", given the long blackouts under Israeli bombing in the Strip. In response, Karhi stated on X that Hamas will only use Starlink for “terrorist activities.” ( Here is the episode of Spaziale, the Startmag podcast, on Why Gaza also invokes Musk's Starlink network ).
Afterwards, on November 27, the SpaceX CEO met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) in Tel Aviv. After the meeting, the Israeli government told Elon Musk that its Starlink satellite network could only operate in Gaza with his approval.
UAE Foreign Ministry spokesperson Afra Al Hameli confirmed on social media that the Gulf country is working "in collaboration with various international and regional organizations and hospitals to introduce SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband into its field hospital." in the city of Rafah, in the south of the Strip on the border with Egypt.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF ISRAEL
Regarding Starlink, “Units in the Gaza Strip to support humanitarian causes will be approved individually, only after the Israeli security forces confirm that it is an authorized entity without any concern for the risk or possibility of endangering the national security,” the minister said in a statement, specifying that the Starlink platform will also be available to some local authorities and government bodies in Israel. “Starlink's entry into Israel will enable advanced satellite communications in routine and during times of emergency,” Karhi added.
THE IMPORTANCE OF STARLINK (IN GAZA AND BEYOND)
On the occasion of Musk's trip to Israel in November, the Israeli minister declared that Starlink and his government had agreed on an "agreement in principle" according to which Israel must approve any use in Gaza.
Prior to this agreement, Karhi also stated that Israel would use “all means at its disposal” to prevent Gaza from gaining access to Starlink, claiming that Hamas would use it. After the visit of the SpaceX owner to Israel, the terrorist organization Hamas also invited the American billionaire to visit Gaza to personally evaluate "the extent of the destruction caused by the Israeli bombings".
Musk's use of Starlink in international conflict zones has underlined his power and influence as one of the richest people in the world, CNN points out.
The Israel-Gaza case is not the first time it has dragged the American billionaire into the center of a debate to provide Starlink connectivity services to countries at war.
To date, more than 1,300 Starlink satellite internet terminals donated by SpaceX to Ukraine at the start of the conflict with Russia have helped Kiev's armed forces maintain communications and coordination on the battlefield. To date, SpaceX has launched over 5,000 Starlink satellites and continues to expand the constellation.
Musk has faced criticism over how and where he allowed Starlink to be deployed in Ukraine during the war with Russia. And just this week, Ukrainian defense intelligence said it had evidence of the use of Starlink satellite communications by Russian forces in occupied areas, even though SpaceX maintains that it does not do business with the Russian government or its military.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/come-funzionera-starlink-a-gaza/ on Thu, 15 Feb 2024 15:30:53 +0000.