Israel Approves Use Of Starlink Services At Field Hospital In Gaza

Israel has approved the use of Starlink satellite services at a field hospital in the Gaza Strip (photo: x @starlink)

JAKARTA - The Israeli government announced on Wednesday 14 February that it had approved the use of Starlink satellite services at a field hospital in the war-torn Gaza Strip, as well as in Israel for the first time.

"Israel's security authorities approved the provision of Starlink services at the UAE field hospital operating in Rafah," the Ministry of Communications said in a statement.

"The low-latency and high-speed Starlink connection will allow video conferencing with other hospitals and real-time remote diagnosis," the statement added.

The Ministry of Communication also stated that Starlink - a satellite network of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and the world's largest satellite operator - will be activated in Israel for the first time. "The use of the company's services will be limited initially with wider use expected in the future," they said.

Musk stated in a post on his social media platform X that he really appreciates Israel's move, in hopes of helping both Israelis and Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

More than 28,000 people have been killed and 68,000 injured in Gaza during Israel's retaliatory military campaign against the Palestinian group of Hamas militants who control the enclave following their deadly cross-border attack to southern Israel on October 7, where they killed 1,200 people and held 253 people hostage.

Most of the hospitals in Gaza have been closed, some of which were immediately hit by artillery fire or invasion, and which are still functioning under increasing pressure as Israeli forces get closer.

Israel says Hamas used such a medical facility as a shield for military purposes. Israel faces growing international pressure to delay the planned attack on Rafah, the final shelter for Palestinians in the south of Gaza.