Israel is looking to secure the use of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites as a backup communication system amid the country’s ongoing war against the Gaza-based Hamas terror group. The talks between Israel and SpaceX were revealed on Tuesday by a government official and come as President Biden visited Israel on Wednesday. Israel has been at war since a Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7 killed at least 1,400 Israeli civilians and soldiers and 30 Americans.
Israeli communities in southern Israel are regularly targeted with rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and several were overrun by Hamas on Oct. 7, with many civilians killed and at least 199 abducted into Gaza as hostages of the terror group. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made the Starlink satellite communications system available on a number of occasions to help provide internet access and connectivity to areas impacted by war and natural disasters.