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Israel eyes use of Musk's Starlink in event of war with Hezbollah, Calcalist reports

June 25, 2024 at 4:07 pm

Starlink satellite antennas are seen at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA), the international trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances, on August 31, 2023 during a preview at the fair grounds in Berlin. [Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images]

Israel is looking to use Elon Musk’s Starlink to maintain Internet connectivity should there be a potential all-out-war with Lebanese Hezbollah on the northern border that causes power outages in Israel, a newspaper report said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

The Calcalist financial daily said that the finance and communications ministries were seeking to utilise Starlink’s 5,000 low-orbit satellites to ensure stable data and information flow for state authorities during emergencies.

Both ministries did not immediately comment to Reuters.

In February, Communications Minister, Shlomo Karhi, gave permission to Starlink, the satellite unit of SpaceX, to operate in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah began attacking Israel shortly after Hamas’s 7 October assault sparked the war in Gaza, and the sides have been trading blows in the months since then. Hezbollah has said it will not stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, headed to Washington on Sunday to discuss the next phase of the Gaza war and escalating hostilities on the border with Lebanon, where exchanges of fire with Hezbollah have stoked fears of wider conflict. A full war in the north could lead to missile attacks on Israel’s power grid and other infrastructure.

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