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Elon Musk toured the kibbutz in southern Israel that was attacked on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists and launched the Israel-Hamas war. His visit comes in the wake of major advertisers, including Hollywood studios, abandoning his X social media platform after the tech mogul’s endorsed an antisemitic post.
In a video released by Israel, Musk was accompanied by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and security personnel, and was wearing a protective vest as he visited the Kfar Aza settlement, the scene of the devastating attack when Hamas terrorists infiltrated the village near the Gaza border. Musk was also accompanied by local politicians and representatives of the Israeli Defense Forces as they recounted the heroism of Kfar Aza residents who attempted to fend off the deadly attack by Hamas terrorists and visited homes of some of the victims.
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The head of carmaker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX was in Israel to discuss how his Starlink satellite technology could provide internet service for a rebuilt Gaza strip, while not allowing the Hamas organization to use the technology to continue its ongoing war against Israel, CNBC reports. (Musk’s office has not commented.) “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,” Israel’s communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, tweeted on Monday.
According to CNBC, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said they will be joined by relatives of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and will also discuss “the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online.”
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy declined to say whether Musk was invited or came on his own, according to the Associated Press.
Musk’s trip coincided with a pause in the war, as the extended Israel-Hamas ceasefire will now stretch two more days, as of Monday. An international consortium led by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt and involving Israeli and Hamas representatives has been attempting to lengthen the current truce in Gaza and rebuilding the Palestinian enclave.
A fourth exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other terror organizations in Gaza in return for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons is expected on Monday. The exchange is part of an initial four-day truce. So far, 62 Israeli hostages among 240 have been released; one was freed by Israeli forces and two were found dead inside Gaza, according to the AP.
Musk’s visit to southern Israel comes amid continuing controversy over the tech tycoon being accused of promoting antisemitism after he agreed with an X post that falsely accused Jewish communities of promoting “dialectical hatred against whites.”
The billionaire owner of X (formerly known as Twitter) said in a repost on his social media platform, “you have said the actual truth” in response to the user’s post on X. The user also wrote, “I’m deeply disinterested in giving the tiniest shit now about western Jewish populations coming to the disturbing realization that those hordes of minorities that support flooding their country don’t exactly like them too much.”
Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate, Apple and IBM are among the major advertisers backing away from the X platform in protest of its proliferation of antisemitic speech.
The White House has also come out against the reported proliferation of antisemitic content on the platform, saying in a statement: “We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans.”
The video of Musk’s visit released by the Israeli government did not address Musk’s remarks.
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