Dozens of Starlink satellite internet stations have arrived in Israel and will be installed in government offices, hospitals and emergency centers in the north in the coming days, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi announced on Monday.
“The station will provide satellite wifi to the entire complex and will allow communication continuity in blackout cases and various other scenarios. And this is just the beginning,” Karhi tweeted.
Israel’s Communications Ministry approved Starlink’s use in Israel in February, enabling Israelis to access broadband services even in the event of disruption to ground-based communications.
“Starlink’s entry into Israel will enable advanced satellite communication routinely and during times of emergency,” said Karhi at the time.
Israel’s security authorities have also approved the use of Starlink in the Gaza Strip on a limited, case-by-case basis, in instances where it has been confirmed that the entity in question poses “no concern of risk or possibility of endangering national security,” the ministry added in a statement.
On Aug. 10, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk tweeted that he hoped “to do more to help people in Gaza.” His Starlink satellite internet service started operating in the Gaza Strip in late July.
He attached a post from Emirati influencer Hassan Sajwani, who tweeted thanks to Musk for helping the UAE’s Gaza Field Hospital in Rafah.
The field hospital was set up in December. Its director, Dr. Sultan Al Kaabi, told the Emirati English-language daily The National that the Starlink service has allowed for live video medical consultations with patients.
“We added the service to cooperate with Emirati hospitals and specialists from different countries,” he said. “We get consultations about certain cases that we don’t have speciality [for] here in Gaza to provide the best treatment.”
Israel at first opposed Starlink in Gaza but reversed the earlier policy due to changing conditions in the Strip and a desire to reach a delicate balance between humanitarian considerations, operational needs and broader geopolitical calculations that could invite outside actors from the region and the private sector to play bigger roles in post-war Gaza, according to observers in Israel.
