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File photo: Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris, France, June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Oct 28 (Reuters) – Elon Musk said on Saturday that SpaceX’s Starlink will support communication links in Gaza with “internationally recognized aid organizations”.
Musk said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that it was not clear who has authority for ground links in Gaza, but we do know that “no terminal has requested a connection in that area”.
A telephone and internet blackout isolated people in the Gaza Strip from the world and from each other on Saturday, with calls to loved ones, ambulances or colleagues elsewhere all but impossible as Israel widened its air and ground assault.
International humanitarian organizations said the blackout, which began on Friday evening, was worsening an already desperate situation by impeding life-saving operations and preventing them from contacting their staff on the ground.
Following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Starlink satellites were reported to have been critical to maintaining internet connectivity in some areas despite attempted Russian jamming.
Since then, Musk has said he declined to extend coverage over Russian-occupied Crimea, refusing to allow his satellites to be used for Ukrainian attacks on Russian forces there.
Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Read More: Musk says Starlink to provide connectivity in Gaza through aid organizations
