The Israeli government has this week approved the use of Starlink satellite services in Gaza for the first time.

Israel has approved Starlink's service to support a field hospital in the Gaza Strip.

"The Israeli security authorities approved the provision of Starlink services at the UAE's field hospital operating in Rafah," the Communications Ministry said in a statement.

"Starlink low-latency, high-speed connections will enable video conferencing with other hospitals and real-time remote diagnostics," it added.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave his approval to the decision on social media.

Since the war between Israel and Palestine began in October, Gaza has been under heavy fire and has suffered multiple network outages.

Gaza is currently under heavy attack from Israeli forces in retaliation for the Hamas terror attack in October.

Hamas killed more than 1,200 people in Israel in surprise attacks on October 7, with more than 200 Israeli citizens kidnapped by the terrorist group.

Israel's government responded with military action, and at least 28,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to its Ministry of Health, with more than 68,000 wounded.

In November, Israel told Elon Musk that Starlink's satellite network would only be allowed to operate in Gaza with its approval. The CEO had previously said he would look to use the service to "support connectivity to internationally recognized aid organizations" in Gaza.

Earlier this week, Musk denied reports that Starlink has sold equipment to Russia after Kyiv's main military intelligence agency alleged that Russian forces in occupied Ukraine have been using Starlink terminals for satellite Internet.