Tel Aviv, Nov 27, (dpa/GNA) – Visiting tech billionaire Elon Musk, has agreed to only make his Starlink mobile network service available in the Gaza Strip if given permission by the Israeli authorities, according to Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi.
“As a result of this significant agreement, Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel, with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip,” Karhi wrote in a post on Musk’s X messaging platform.
At the end of October, Musk said he wanted to use his company SpaceX’s satellite communication system, to help restore communications for internationally recognized aid organizations in the Gaza Strip.
The communications had been cut during the course of Israel’s war against the Hamas extremist group, which broke out after the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7.
Following Musk’s offer, Israel said it would prevent the restoration of communications by Starlink by any means necessary, arguing that Hamas would use the system for terrorist purposes.
During his trip to Israel, Musk is also set to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Herzog’s office late on Sunday, said representatives of the families of hostages abducted in the Gaza Strip, would also be present at the meeting.
“They will talk about the horrors of the Hamas terror attack on October 7, and the continuing pain and uncertainty for the prisoners,” the president’s office said in a statement.
Herzog also wanted to emphasize the need to “take action against increasing anti-Semitism on the internet” during the meeting.
It was unclear whether Musk would also meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Musk’s online platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has been criticized over its handling of content relating to the Hamas attack on Israel and the Gaza war.
Musk has also drawn accusations of anti-Semitism, after attacking financier and Holocaust survivor George Soros, and the New York-based Jewish organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Musk has stated that he is “pro free speech, but against anti-Semitism of any kind.”
GNA