Does the Israeli occupation prevent Elon Musk from providing internet service to Gaza?
Israel has pledged to prevent the use of Starlink service in Gaza after the American billionaire Elon Musk announced his intention to extend it to the region.
The Israeli Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, stated, “We will use available means to prevent Elon Musk from providing internet to relief organizations in Gaza.”
Shlomo Karhi mentioned on the X website that “Hamas will use Starlink service for terrorist activities, there’s no doubt about it, we know it, and Musk knows it. Hamas is like ISIS. Perhaps Musk is willing to meet these conditions by releasing our kidnapped children and elderly. By that time, my office will sever any relationship with Starlink.”
Gaza has been in complete isolation under intense Israeli airstrikes since last Friday, with all communication and internet services cut off. Activists on social media launched a campaign to provide the besieged region with internet access.
Participants in the campaign appealed to the American billionaire Elon Musk to provide his company’s Starlink internet services to Gaza, as he did in Ukraine.
Musk responded on the X website, saying, “Starlink will communicate with internationally recognized organizations to provide assistance to Gaza. However, the dilemma lies in whether the United States or even the Israeli authorities will agree to Musk‘s involvement in this matter, and whether it will be limited to assisting recognized entities in the sector such as United Nations organizations and relief agencies, after Washington has expressed absolute support for Israel in what it described as a decisive war.”
Thousands of X platform users participated in the past hours under the hashtag #starlinkforgaza, demanding to provide Gaza with Starlink internet services.
This came after the sector, inhabited by over two million people, has been under siege for more than three weeks, completely isolated from the outside world, with all communications cut off. This has made the work of hospitals, relief teams, and ambulances difficult, exacerbating the suffering of Gaza’s residents.
The Israeli authorities cut communications and the internet two days ago, coinciding with intense and unprecedented airstrikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip, before the spokesperson announced the start of a ground war expansion in the Gaza Strip.
International relief organizations warned of the impact of cutting communications and the internet in the Gaza Strip on the continuity of their work, especially medical and emergency teams.
