Musk activates Starlink internet service in Gaza hospital

The Starlink satellite internet service has been activated in a hospital in the Gaza Strip with the help of Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Elon Musk said. 

"Starlink is now active in a Gaza hospital with the support of @UAEmediaoffice and @Israel," Musk posted on X.

The move comes more than five months after the Israeli government approved Starlink's use in the hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Starlink, owned by Musk's SpaceX, is a network of satellites in low Earth orbit that can provide internet to remote locations, or areas that have had normal communications infrastructure disabled.

The UAE said the high-speed internet will enable potentially life-saving medical consultations via real-time video calling.

The Gulf Arab nation's foreign minister thanked Musk for supporting the UAE field hospital in Gaza.

Destruction of health facilities

Many health facilities in the Palestinian enclave have been destroyed in over nine months of war.

Israel launched its Gaza operation after Hamas Islamists carried out violent attacks in southern Israel on October 7. 

The Palestinian militant group, designated as a terrorist organization by the EU, the US, Germany and several other countries, killed 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages.

Around 120 hostages are still being held by the group.

Israel's military offensive has killed over 39,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled health authorities.