CNN — Abu Dhabi (CNN) — Starlink internet services operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX will be brought to a UAE field hospital in southern Gaza for patients who need real-time video medical consultations. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this on Wednesday.
Telecommunications services in Gaza have been cut off several times in the past four months, including for more than a week in January, the longest such outage since the start of the war.
Some journalists and aid workers have been restricted from communicating using international and electronic SIM cards near the borders of Israel and Egypt, while ordinary people have had difficulty connecting with the outside world.
The Rafah-based hospital, one of the few international field hospitals in Gaza, employs 50 doctors, nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technicians, and provides patient care through video conferencing with other hospitals. faced communication difficulties that affected their ability to provide medical assistance; The UAE, which has good relations with Israel, is one of the few countries operating a field hospital in the Gaza Strip.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Afra Al Hameri said: “This step further underlines the UAE’s unwavering efforts to stand in solidarity with the brotherly Palestinian people during the ongoing war.” .
Starlink, operated by SpaceX, uses a network of thousands of satellites to provide broadband and can provide high-speed, low-latency internet to users around the world, including in areas where traditional internet is not available.
Musk, who founded SpaceX, was criticized by Israeli officials in October when he wrote to X that he would provide Starlink to internationally recognized aid groups in Gaza.
At the time, Israeli authorities accused Musk of supporting Hamas, but shortly after, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi told X that he had reached an “understanding in principle” with Musk regarding Starlink, and that It said Link could only operate in Israel and Gaza. Israeli government.
“Israeli security authorities have approved the provision of Starlink services at the UAE field hospital operating in Rafah,” Israel’s Ministry of Communications said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Forces in the Gaza Strip supporting humanitarian causes can only be approved on a case-by-case basis if the Israeli security forces confirm that they are authorized organizations that are not concerned about the risk or potential to endanger national security. ,” Karuhi said in a statement.
In November, Musk visited Israel, met with the country’s leaders and walked through a kibbutz destroyed by Hamas, which supported anti-Semitic posts on his social media platform X. He was trying to calm the anger caused by what he had done.
Musk’s use of Starlink in international conflict zones underscored his power and influence as one of the world’s richest people.
Musk has faced criticism for how and where he authorized the deployment of Starlink in Ukraine, which is at war with Russia. And just this week, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency claimed to have confirmed the use of Starlink satellite communications by the Russian military in occupied territory, although SpaceX says it does not do business with the Russian government or military.
CNN was the first Western media to be allowed to visit Rafah’s field hospital in December.
Within minutes of CNN arriving at the hospital, several people injured in the Israeli airstrike were brought to the hospital. Among them were a man and a 13-year-old boy who lost limbs in the bombing. At this time, the note given to him by the paramedics was covered in blood. The team quickly replaced the bandage, which had been used as an improvised tourniquet.
The hospital was quickly built inside a soccer stadium, and its staff and state-of-the-art equipment have made its 150 beds extremely popular. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the hospital has carried out 555 major surgeries and treated more than 4,038 cases in the past few months.
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