Israel Says It’s Discussing Starlink Wartime Backup With SpaceX
- Satellite internet to be used if other systems disrupted
- Israeli ministry also mulling disconnecting Gaza from internet
Smoke billows after an Israeli airstrike at the Rafah refugee camp on Oct. 17.
Photographer: Said Khatib/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Israel says it’s in talks with SpaceX on setting up Starlink internet services to bolster its wartime communications, ahead of its expected ground invasion in the Gaza Strip.
The announcement comes as Israel goes to war with Hamas in Gaza, following a deadly cross-border invasion on Oct. 7 that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians. The Israeli army has responded with heavy airstrikes in Gaza, which have killed more than 2,800 Palestinians, and stopped fuel, water and electricity supply into the Hamas-run Strip while amassing hundreds of thousands of troops along the front lines.