Tesla and X Chief Exective Officer (CEO) Elon Musk announced today that Starlink will facilitate connectivity to internationally recognized relief organizations in Gaza.
He was replying to US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also referred to as AOC, who questioned how anybody could justify "such an act" in light of last night's shutdown of the internet and communications in the Gaza Strip.
Read here: Israel intensifies attacks on Gaza after communications cut off
"Cutting off all communication to a population of 2.2 million is unacceptable. Journalists, medical professionals, humanitarian efforts, and innocents are all endangered," AOC said in a post on X.
"I do not know how such an act can be defended. The United States has historically denounced this practice."
In reply, Elon Musk said, "Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza."
Elon Musk's space travel company SpaceX established the Starlink satellite network to offer affordable internet to remote areas.
SpaceX plans to eventually have as many as 42,000 satellites in this so-called mega constellation. A Starlink satellite has a lifespan of roughly five years.
In the midst of heavy Israeli bombardment of Palestinian territory on Friday, phone service and internet connectivity were entirely shut off throughout the Gaza Strip.
Israel, according to Hamas, is acting in this way "to perpetrate massacres with bloody retaliatory strikes from the air, land, and sea."
The Palestinian telecom company Jawwal acknowledged the communications outage.
Jawwal posted on its Facebook page, "All remaining international routes connecting Gaza to the outside world destroyed in the heavy bombardment in the last hour."
Using real-time network data, the international internet watchdog NetBlocks claimed "a collapse in connectivity in the Gaza Strip with high impact to Paltel," the owner of Jawwal said.
Read this also: Israel continues pounding Gaza as it claims to hit 150 'underground targets'
"The company is the last remaining major operator to supply service as connectivity declines amid ongoing fighting with Israel," NetBlocks stated on X.
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