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Elon Musk, Israel Agree for Use of Starlink in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with businessman Elon Musk during their visit to Kfar Aza kibbutz (dpa)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with businessman Elon Musk during their visit to Kfar Aza kibbutz (dpa)
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Elon Musk, Israel Agree for Use of Starlink in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with businessman Elon Musk during their visit to Kfar Aza kibbutz (dpa)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with businessman Elon Musk during their visit to Kfar Aza kibbutz (dpa)

Israel and Tycoon Elon Musk had agreed in principle that SpaceX's Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip."

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi issued a statement that seemed a retreat from his opposition last month to Musk's proposal to use Starlink to support communication links in the blackout-hit enclave with "internationally recognized aid organizations."

During his visit to Israel, Musk met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visited a kibbutz in southern Israel, where Hamas launched its attack on Oct. 7.

Netanyahu told Musk during an interview published on his "X" account at the end of their visit to Kfar Aza that Israel must disarm Gaza after the destruction of Hamas and "eliminate extremism" in the Palestinian territories.

Netanyahu's office released footage showing the two men walking through rubble on the kibbutz.

"We have to demilitarize Gaza after the destruction of Hamas, and we have to deradicalize Gaza ... and then we have to also rebuild Gaza," he said.

Karhi announced a preliminary agreement that Starlink would only operate in Israel and Gaza with the Israeli government's approval.

"Elon Musk, I congratulate you for reaching a principle understanding with the Ministry of Communications under my leadership," Karhi wrote.

"As a result of this significant agreement, Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip."

In statements, Musk declared his support for the campaign launched by Israel against the Hamas movement.

"Those that are intent on murder must be neutralized," Musk added.

"The propaganda must stop that is training people to be murderers in the future. And then making Gaza prosperous. And if that happens, I think it will be a good future."

Reuters indicated that Musk had a direct online discussion with Netanyahu, adding that he asserted: "I'd like to help as well," Musk said

Netanyahu hoped Musk would help, adding that his visit reveals the commitment to secure a better future.

Musk himself was assailed for his endorsement of an anti-Jewish post on Nov. 15.

Musk also watched footage assembled from Hamas bodycams, CCTV, and other sources of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in which Israel says 240 people were taken captive back to Gaza.

Early on Monday, the billionaire tweeted during his Israel visit that "actions speak louder than words."

Later, Musk met families of hostages held in Gaza with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Herzog said Musk had a huge role in the global fight against antisemitism.

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A Week after Catastrophic Earthquake, Focus Turns to a Growing Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar

Rescue workers look on as heavy machinery clears the rubble at the site of an under-construction building collapse in Bangkok on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar and Thailand. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)
Rescue workers look on as heavy machinery clears the rubble at the site of an under-construction building collapse in Bangkok on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar and Thailand. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)
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A Week after Catastrophic Earthquake, Focus Turns to a Growing Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar

Rescue workers look on as heavy machinery clears the rubble at the site of an under-construction building collapse in Bangkok on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar and Thailand. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)
Rescue workers look on as heavy machinery clears the rubble at the site of an under-construction building collapse in Bangkok on March 30, 2025, two days after an earthquake struck central Myanmar and Thailand. (Photo by MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP)

Search teams pulled more bodies from the ruins of buildings on Friday, a week after a massive earthquake rocked Myanmar killing more than 3,100 people, as the focus turns toward the urgent humanitarian needs in a country that was already devastated by civil war.

United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who is also the emergency relief coordinator, was to arrive Friday in an effort to spur action following the quake. Ahead of his visit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the international community to immediately step up funding for quake victims "to match the scale of this crisis," and he urged unimpeded access to reach those in need.

"The earthquake has supercharged the suffering with the monsoon season just around the corner," he said Thursday.

Myanmar authorities said Thursday that 3,145 people had been killed, with another 4,589 people injured and 221 missing, and did not immediately update the figures on Friday.

Britain, which had already given $13 million to purchase emergency items like food, water and shelter, pledged an additional $6.5 million in funds to match an appeal from Myanmar's Disasters Emergency Committee, according to the UK Embassy in Yangon.

Many international search and rescue teams were also on the scene, and eight medical crews from China, Thailand, Japan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Russia were operating in Naypyitaw, according to Myanmar's military-run government. Another five teams from India, Russia, Laos and Nepal and Singapore were helping in the Mandalay region, while teams from Russia, Malaysia and the ASEAN bloc of nations were assisting in the Sagaing region.

The Trump administration has pledged $2 million in emergency aid and sent a three-person team to assess how best to respond given drastic cuts to US foreign assistance.

On Friday, five bodies were recovered from the rubble in the capital Naypyitaw and the second-largest city of Mandalay, near the epicenter of the 7.7 magnitude earthquake March 28, authorities said. The last reported rescue came Wednesday, some 125 hours after the quake struck, when a man was saved from the wreckage of a hotel in Mandalay.

The quake also shook neighboring Thailand, bringing down a high-rise under construction in Bangkok, where recovery work continued Friday. Overall, 22 people have been found dead and 35 injured in Bangkok, primarily from the construction site.

Myanmar´s military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking what has turned into a civil war.

The quake worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis, with more than 3 million people displaced from their homes and nearly 20 million in need even before it hit, according to the United Nations.

As concerns grew that ongoing fighting could hamper humanitarian aid efforts, the military declared a temporary ceasefire Wednesday, through April 22. The announcement followed unilateral temporary ceasefires announced by armed resistance groups opposed to military rule.

On Thursday, however, there were renewed airstrikes in Kayah state, also known as Karenni, in eastern Myanmar, according to witnesses.

The military has said that it would still take "necessary" measures against resistance groups, if they use the ceasefire to regroup, train or launch attacks, and the groups have said they reserved the right to defend themselves.