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Billionaire Elon Musk has announced that his Starlink satellite service will support internet access for internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza. This comes as the region has experienced a telecommunications blackout since Friday. Starlink, a network of satellites in low Earth orbit, is capable of providing internet connectivity to remote areas or areas where traditional communications infrastructure has been disabled.

Musk, who owns Starlink operator SpaceX, made this announcement in response to a tweet from US Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who called the communications blackout in Gaza “unacceptable.”

Head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed the need for Starlink to establish communication with their staff and health facilities in Gaza to aid their operations.

Earlier on Saturday, UN agencies and NGOs reported that they had lost contact with their teams in the Gaza Strip. Lynn Hastings, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, emphasised the crucial role of communication for hospitals and humanitarian operations.

This move by Musk to provide internet access through Starlink is not the first of its kind. The satellite service was also deployed in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February 2022. It proved to be a critical tool for high-tech soldiers operating in areas with disrupted communication.

In September, Musk revealed that he had denied Starlink internet access to Ukraine, preventing them from wiping out Russia’s Black Sea navy fleet. The government authorities had requested emergency activation of Starlink to target the fleet, but Musk refused on grounds of international security.

While this announcement has been met with appreciation, it has also faced condemnation from Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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