Accessibility links

Breaking News

Musk Says Starlink to Provide Connectivity in Gaza


FILE - Starlink satellite antennas are shown at an international trade show on Aug. 31, 2023, in Berlin, Germany. Elon Musk said on Oct. 28 that Starlink will support some communication links in Gaza.
FILE - Starlink satellite antennas are shown at an international trade show on Aug. 31, 2023, in Berlin, Germany. Elon Musk said on Oct. 28 that Starlink will support some communication links in Gaza.

Elon Musk said on Saturday that SpaceX's Starlink will support communication links in Gaza with "internationally recognized aid organizations."

A telephone and internet blackout isolated people in the Gaza Strip from the world and from each other on Saturday, with calls to loved ones, ambulances or colleagues elsewhere all but impossible as Israel widened its air and ground assault.

International humanitarian organizations said the blackout, which began on Friday evening, was worsening an already desperate situation by impeding lifesaving operations and preventing them from contacting their staff on the ground.

Following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Starlink satellites were reported to have been critical to maintaining internet connectivity in some areas despite attempted Russian jamming.

Since then, Musk has said he declined to extend coverage over Russian-occupied Crimea, refusing to allow his satellites to be used for Ukrainian attacks on Russian forces there.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG