Elon Musk has been slammed by the Israeli government after offering to send SpaceX’s Starlink to Gaza.
The tech mogul said over the weekend that he would send Starlink to “internationally recognised aid organizations” in Gaza after a telephone and internet blackout in the city.
He added that it was not clear who has authority for ground links in Gaza, but “no terminal has requested a connection in that area”.
Responding to Musk’s post on X, Israel’s communication minister Shlomo Karhi hit out at the tech mogul, claiming that Hamas militants would use Stralink technology for “terrorist activities” and vowing that Israel will fight the move.
“Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight this,” Mr Karhi wrote.
“HAMAS will use it for terrorist activities. Perhaps Musk would be willing to condition it with the release of our abducted babies, sons, daughters, elderly people. All of them! By then, my office will cut any ties with starlink.”
Mr Musk has insisted that SpaceX will take “extraordinary measures” to ensure the technology is only used for humanitarian reasons. It is unclear what those measures are.
“Moreover, we will do a security check with both the US and Israeli governments before turning on even a single terminal,” he added on X.
It comes after telecommunications were cut in Gaza over the weekend, leaving millions of residents without power or means of contact as Israel widened its air and ground assault.
International humanitarian organisations 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.
Following the blackout, Palestinians appealed to Mr Musk to send Starlink satellites to Gaza.
“Gaza is under bombardment, the internet and telecommunications have been cut off. They need Starlink immediately,” Anastasia Maria Loupis, a doctor, wrote on X.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and X, speaks to reporters as he leaves the AI Insight Forum at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023 in Washington, DC— (Getty Images)
It comes after Mr Musk was widely praised for providing Ukraine with Starlink following Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Starlink satellites were reported to have been critical to maintaining internet connectivity in some areas despite attempted Russian jamming.
But since then, Mr Musk has come under scrutiny after declining to extend coverage over Russian-occupied Crimea, refusing to allow his satellites to be used for Ukrainian attacks on Russian forces there.
Mr Musk allegedly feared doing so would trigger a nuclear response from Moscow.
Since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October in which 1,400 people died, Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza, leading to the deaths of more than 8,000 Palestinians.
