Starlink, a satellite-based internet service, is now active at a Gaza hospital with the support of Israel and the United Arab Emirates Media Office, says SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Although the billionaire did not disclose the name of the hospital in the war-ridden zone where users can use the internet service, there have been several calls for Starlink to make its internet service available in Gaza since 2023.
In October 2023, for instance, Gaza experienced near-collapse communications, triggering calls on X, for the founder of Tesla to power the war zone with Starlink internet with hashtag #starlinkforgaza.
Musk responded saying, “No terminals from Gaza have attempted to communicate with our constellation,” he said on his handle on X.
The billionaire was responding to calls by a doctor Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis, who has been working in Gaza, when she raised the alarm that “Gaza is under bombardment, the internet and of telecommunications have been cut off. They need Starlink immediately,” and raising the alarm that “These people are suffering and can’t inform the world of what they are going through.”
Tesla’s founder later responded, “Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza.”
Now that Starlink internet service is live in Gaza hospital, health workers in the hospital will be able to communicate with the rest of the world.
While some people are excited about the announcement, it is recalled that Israel approved the use of Starlink services in a field hospital funded by the UAE in the Gaza Strip in February 2024, which paved the way for it to be used in Israel.
X user who expressed her disappointment alleged that Starlink made its service available in Gaza because the hospital was owned by the UAE government.
Another user, surprisingly, Dr Loupis who in October 2023 called the attention of Musk to cut off communications in Gaza, expressed her anger that Starlink internet was activated in a Gaza hospital through the support of Israel, the country that reduced Gaza to rubble.
Starlink, which is now available in 80 countries at the time of this publication, is a network of satellites operated by Musk’s SpaceX in low Earth orbit that is capable of providing internet to remote locations that may be extremely difficult for the conventional internet provider to penetrate.