Prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist Shaun Maguire spilled the beans on a webinar last week, revealing that he was the man behind getting the Israel Defense Forces access to Starlink satellite internet in a jiffy. This satellite internet is brought to you by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, in case you didn’t know. The whole shebang went down within hours or days of the IDF kicking off their military response in Gaza to Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. Surprisingly, this was way earlier than what Israel, Musk, or SpaceX has let on to the public.
The juicy details came out during a webinar titled “Why VCs Are Betting On Defense Tech,” hosted by the Israeli Defense Ministry’s “Mafat for Startups.” Tel Aviv–based venture capitalist Aviv Eyal was the one who first brought up the topic, introducing Maguire at the start of the webinar. According to the duo’s recollections, it’s a bit fuzzy when exactly Starlink was activated for the IDF. Eyal claimed during the webinar that it only took Maguire “12 hours, maybe less, to get Starlink switched on over Israel.” On the other hand, Maguire mentioned that Eyal reached out to him sometime between October 8 and October 9, with Starlink coming into play on October 9. But hey, Israel didn’t officially give the thumbs up for SpaceX’s limited use until more than four months later. Talk about being ahead of the game, right?
Fast forward to October 20, 2023, and the IDF decided to launch an offensive in Gaza, specifically targeting the area’s internet and telecommunications infrastructure. This led to a “complete disruption” of internet and cellular communication for the 2.3 million residents at the time. Elon Musk then stepped into the ring, engaging in some tense negotiations with the Israeli Communications Ministry to provide Starlink access in the region. By October 28, Musk announced that Starlink would be used to “support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations in Gaza.” However, Israeli communications minister Shlomo Karhi wasn’t too keen on the idea, expressing concerns that Hamas might get their hands on Starlink for “terrorist activities.”
As of February 14, 2024, the Israeli Communications Ministry finally gave the green light for Starlink to be used in both Israel and at a United Arab Emirates–run field hospital in Rafah. Karhi mentioned that the services would start off limited, with plans for broader use in the future. Eyal hinted during the webinar that it’s only a matter of weeks before Starlink is “launched for Israel as a whole” and available to the masses. But will this include the occupied West Bank and Gaza? That’s a question that remains unanswered, unfortunately.
With over a thousand Israelis losing their lives due to Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, the situation remains grim. On the flip side, between 53,000 and 62,000 Palestinians have perished as a result of Israel’s military offensive into Gaza following the attack. The exact death toll remains uncertain, with numerous bodies buried under the rubble of demolished buildings. To make matters worse, Israel has been blocking food and medical aid from entering Gaza since March, leading to dire living conditions. It’s a tragic situation with no end in sight.
