Mashable: UAE is looking to provide SpaceX’s Starlink at field hospital in the Gaza Strip

The United Arab Emirates has announced that it is working to introduce SpaceX's Starlink at its field hospital in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Khaleej Times, the UAE has been working in partnership with various international and regional organizations and hospitals to make available, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband at the Emirati field hospital in Gaza.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, affirmed that this step will further underscore the unwavering efforts of the United Arab Emirates to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people during the ongoing war.

The Starlink internet service by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX will be made available in the field hospital in the Gaza Strip, to enable potentially life-saving medical consultations through real-time video calling.

The use of the high-tech satellite system will help healthcare workers deliver crucial care in the Gaza Strip, which has seen communication cuts ever since the Hamas-Israeli war began on October 7, 2023.

Frequent power cuts in the Gaza Strip have also hampered efforts to coordinate necessary aid to the Palestinian people, who are facing a much worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.

The international organizations and hospitals working in partnership with the United Arab Emirates include Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and the Children’s National and Medical Center in Washington DC. Boston Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Foundation in the USA, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome, the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona in Spain, and the Giannina Gaslini Institute in Genoa in Italy are also participating.

The Emirates field hospital was reportedly established in December 2023 to help ease the pressure placed on Gaza’s health service by the ongoing conflict which is now in its fifth month.