Tech billionaire Elon Musk says he will provide satellite internet access to “internationally recognized relief organizations” in Gaza through his Starlink network.
Currently, telephone and internet communications in the Gaza Strip are cut off after a heavy Israeli shelling on the night of October 27.
Elon Musk made the announcement in a post on social network X (formerly Twitter) on October 28, saying that SpaceX would “support connectivity” to the Gaza Strip, which is currently blockaded by Israel.
As Elon Musk has stated, there may be some Starlink terminals in Gaza but none of them are connected to the satellite internet network.
Technology billionaire Elon Musk. (Photo: AFP)
“It is unclear who has authority over ground links in Gaza but we do know that there is no equipment making connections in Gaza currently,” Musk wrote on X.
Internet and mobile phone services were cut off in Gaza on the evening of October 27 following a wave of Israeli airstrikes.
Gaza's largest telecommunications operator, Paltel, announced that its infrastructure was completely destroyed in the bombing, before Israel deployed ground troops into the area.
“The intense airstrikes in the past hours have destroyed all remaining international telecommunications lines connecting Gaza to the outside world ,” said a Paltel representative.
The telecommunications outage left news organizations and aid groups unable to reach their staff in Gaza, with the UN children's agency and Doctors Without Borders both reporting no contact from their staff.
Billionaire Elon Musk's announcement marks the second time he has deployed Starlink to a war zone. Shortly after the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the American tech mogul announced that he would deliver Starlink terminals to Ukraine and cover maintenance costs.
However, he fell out of favor with Kiev when he banned the Ukrainian military from using the network to guide drone attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea.
“If I agreed to their demands, SpaceX would clearly be complicit in an escalation of war and conflict,” Elon Musk explained last month.
The Pentagon later announced an agreement to lease Starlink satellites for military use.
Tra Khanh (Source: russian.rt.com)
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