American billionaire Elon Musk has agreed that his Starlink satellite internet service will be available in the Gaza Strip only with permission from the Israeli authorities, Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said, DPA and AFP news agencies reported on Monday, citing Agerpres.

“As a result of this important agreement, Starlink satellite devices will be able to operate in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including in the Gaza Strip,” Karhi wrote in a post on the X platform (formerly Twitter, founded by Musk).

In late October, Elon Musk assured that his Starlink satellite Internet service would maintain connectivity in Gaza for “internationally recognized humanitarian organizations,” while telecommunications and the Internet are shut down in the territory, which is heavily bombarded by the Israeli army. Non-governmental organizations and UN agencies have previously announced that they have lost all contact with their teams in the Gaza Strip.

Following Elon Musk’s proposal in late October, Israel announced it would use any means necessary to prevent Starlink from reestablishing communications in the Gaza Strip, claiming the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas could use the system for terrorist purposes.

Platform X has been criticized for the way it handled content related to the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. Musk has also been accused of anti-Semitism after he criticized Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros and the New York-based Jewish organization Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

On Monday, Musk said he was “in favor of free speech, but against any anti-Semitism.”

Elon Musk in Israel. Netanyahu took him to Kfar Aza, one of the kibbutzim hardest hit by the Hamas attack

On the other hand, Elon Musk visited one of the kibbutzim in southern Israel, which was attacked by Hamas militants on October 7, together with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We must demilitarize Gaza after destroying Hamas and deradicalize” the Palestinian territory, Prime Minister Netanyahu explained to Elon Musk at the end of a visit to Kibbutz Kfar Az.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office published photos of the two walking through the ruins of a kibbutz.

During the visit to Israel, Elon Musk is scheduled to meet with President Isaac Herzog, which will be attended by representatives of the families of Israeli hostages captured by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the press service of the President of Israel reports.

An unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. In response, the Israeli army launched an offensive against Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip, killing 15,000 people, according to the Hamas government.

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