New York/Dubai: Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service has been successfully activated in a Gaza Strip hospital, with crucial support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel. The initiative aims to improve connectivity in the war-torn region, where many medical facilities have been severely damaged over the past nine months.
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan expressed gratitude to Musk for his role in enhancing the UAE field hospital’s capabilities in Gaza. The activation of Starlink will facilitate life-saving medical consultations through real-time video calls, a significant improvement given the region’s challenging conditions.
“Starlink is now active in a Gaza hospital with the support of @UAEmediaoffice and @Israel,” Musk announced on X, marking a milestone more than five months after the Israeli government approved the use of Starlink in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
The introduction of high-speed internet is expected to address the severe connectivity issues in Gaza, where power shortages and fuel scarcity have hampered internet service providers. These challenges have made it difficult for medical professionals and rescue teams to perform their duties, impacting hospital operations and the health ministry’s central systems.
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The UAE, which signed a normalization agreement with Israel in 2020 alongside Bahrain and Morocco, has played a pivotal role in this collaboration. Sudan also later joined in normalizing relations with Israel.
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The conflict in Gaza began with an attack by Hamas-led fighters on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people and over 250 hostages taken to the Palestinian enclave, according to Israeli sources. In response, Israel’s offensive has resulted in over 39,000 Palestinian casualties and widespread devastation in the Gaza Strip, as reported by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
