The Israeli government reached an agreement with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet company to use the technology in Israel and parts of the Gaza Strip, Israeli officials announced Wednesday.
Starlink internet will serve as a backup system for Israeli government offices and critical infrastructure and for certain Israeli-approved uses in Gaza, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said.
“We will soon be receiving satellite communication lines from all over the world. This is great and exciting news,” Karhi said on X, formerly Twitter, which is also owned by Musk. “I wish to thank Starlink for the pertinent discussion and foremost agreements and understandings vis a vis Gaza. Starlink’s entry into Israel will enable advanced satellite communication in routine and during times of emergency.”
Use in Gaza will be limited to a UAE-operated medical center in Rafah, the communications ministry said, with future access subject to Israeli approval.
“Units in the Gaza Strip to support humanitarian causes will be approved individually, only after Israeli security forces confirmed it to be an authorized entity with no concern of risk or possibility of endangering national security,” Karhi said.
Musk initially promised Starlink access to aid organizations in Gaza in late October, just after the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, but Karhi said at the time that the services would be taken advantage of by Hamas.
In November, Karhi announced an agreement with Musk to use Starlink services in Gaza after Musk visited the country, though the service was never activated in the region. That agreement required Israeli control of services in Gaza.
Musk had also offered the use of Starlink to Ukraine in its efforts against Russia’s invasion of the country. However, he admitted that he turned off internet access from his Starlink satellites during a Ukrainian raid last year on a Russian naval fleet. He said at the time he did so to prevent SpaceX from being “complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”