Elon Musk
  • Elon Musk is set to travel to Israel to see damage caused by the Hamas attacks.
  • Musk had previously angered Israeli officials by saying he would offer Starlink in Gaza.
  • Musk is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Elon Musk plans to visit Israel on Monday, the office of Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed to Business Insider.

Israeli news outlet N12 previously reported that Musk, the richest man in the world, will tour the Gaza envelope — an area about 4 miles from the Gaza Strip border. Musk is also scheduled to meet with Herzog and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Gaza envelope saw the brunt of Hamas' attacks on October 7. About 1,200 people were killed and about 240 taken hostage during those attacks, which sparked a scorched-earth response from Israel that has killed more than 14,000 people in Gaza, the vast majority of them women and children.

Musk previously met with Netanyahu in California in September, during which the pair discussed antisemitism on X, Musk's social media platform that was formerly known as Twitter, the Associated Press reported.

A post by Musk on X earlier this month, in which he referred to an antisemitic post as "the actual truth," drew widespread backlash. The White House denounced it as an "abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate."

Musk angered Israeli officials in October when he said he planned to offer Starlink internet access for Palestinians in Gaza after Israel cut off all communications in the Strip in the wake of its retaliatory invasion.

Gaza is a small sliver of land about the size of Philadelphia and home to about 2 million Palestinians. Access in and out of the Gaza Strip has long been controlled by the militaries of Israel and Egypt, both of which are hostile to Palestinians. Israel and Egypt have also maintained a blockade on Gaza for years, controlling any goods entering and exiting.

Musk has repeatedly made forays into international conflicts with his Starlink satellite network.

A biographer of Musk said the chief executive blocked Starlink access in Crimea to prevent Ukraine from targeting occupying Russian forces with drones. The move came after Musk spoke to Russian officials, who raised fears such an attack could lead to a nuclear response.

The biographer, journalist Walter Isaacson, said the militarization of Starlink made Musk uncomfortable.

"How am I in this war?" Musk asked Isaacson during an interview, according to an excerpt from the book. "Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes."

Read the original article on Business Insider