Tech billionaire Elon Musk has arrived in Israel to kick off a high-profile trip to the country amid the ongoing truce with Palestinian group Hamas.
Musk’s plane touched down in Tel Aviv on Monday morning, said Israeli aviation expert Avi Scharf, citing an aviation tracker. The billionaire is expected to meet with officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, as well as relatives of Hamas-held captives, Israeli media reported.
The trip comes on the fourth day of an ongoing truce between Israel and Hamas, during which Israel is recovering dozens of captives in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
It also comes amid concern about misinformation and hate speech on Musk’s social media platform X, seven weeks into the Gaza war, and speculation over how his satellite internet network Starlink could boost connectivity in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
As Musk arrived, Israel announced it had struck an agreement “in principle” to use SpaceX’s Starlink communications channel in Gaza.
The agreement marked a major shift for Israel, whose communication minister previously dismissed the idea of opening up Starlink to Gaza because it said Hamas would use it for “terrorist activities”.
But on Monday, Israeli Communication Minister Shlomo Karhi announced Israel had reached an agreement in principle under which “Starlink satellite units can only be operated in Israel with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications, including the Gaza Strip”.
In an X post addressed to Musk, Karhi said he hoped the entrepreneur’s visit to Israel “will serve as a springboard for future endeavors, as well as enhance your relationship with the Jewish people and values we share with the entire world”.
United Arab Emirates Dirham Exchange Rate
