Israel threatens to sever relations with Starlink over conflict with Elon Musk
SpaceX CEO says he is ready to provide Internet connection for Gaza
Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Kari has announced his intention to sever all ties with the Starlink satellite Internet network owned by Elon Musk's SpaceX company. The decision was made in response to Musk's statement about the possible provision of communication for the Gaza Strip.
"Hamas uses everything for terrorist activities. There's no doubt about it, we know it, Musk knows it," Minister Shlomo Kari tweeted.
He proposed to include a condition for the release of hostages in Starlink's demands. He also emphasized that any provision of communications for Gaza should be coordinated with the Israeli authorities.
"Perhaps Musk will want to include the release of our abducted babies, sons, daughters, and the elderly in the list of conditions (for providing Gaza with the Internet – ed.). All of them! Until then, my office will cut all ties with Starlink," the minister wrote.
Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight this.
– 🇮🇱שלמה קרעי – Shlomo Karhi (@shlomo_karhi) October 28, 2023
HAMAS will use it for terrorist activities. There is no doubt about it, we know it, and musk knows it. HAMAS is ISIS.
Perhaps Musk would be willing to condition it with the release of our abducted babies, sons, daughters,… https://t.co/pRNOlnINbZ
In response, Musk said that Starlink is ready to provide communications for international organizations in Gaza only for humanitarian reasons and in agreement with the Israeli government.
"We are not that naive. According to my report, no Starlink terminal has tried to connect from Gaza. If one does, we will take extraordinary measures to confirm that it is being used for purely humanitarian reasons only," Musk wrote.
In the evening of October 27, mobile communication and the Internet disappeared in most of the Gaza Strip. Representatives of the Hamas group blamed Israel for the disconnection. The disruption affected the operation of the emergency hotline, the Red Crescent Society reported.
On the morning of October 29, communications in the region were restored, Palestinian telecommunications operator Paltel reported. The NetBlocks organization, which monitors the situation, also reported that Internet access had been restored.
Background. The day before, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that his country had entered a "new phase" in the fight against Hamas.
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