Elon Musk and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the Kfar Aza kibbutz in Israel on Monday. The world's richest man was on a short visit to the country during a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza-Israel war.
Musk was also shown a video documenting some of the devastation and atrocities wrecked by Hamas terrorists. During an X Space conversation between him and Netanyahu, Musk said it was jarring to visit the site and troubling to see the joy on the faces of Hamas militants as they killed innocent people. “It’s one thing obviously if civilians die accidentally, but it’s another thing to revel in the joy of killing civilians. … That’s evil,” he said.
Musk argued that the actions of Hamas militants were intentional. “There is an important difference here, which is Israel tries to avoid killing civilians.”
The Tesla and SpaceX chief, also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, later on Monday.
According to Herzog’s press office, the Israeli leader said “the oldest disease in humanity, antisemitism” and pointed to Musk’s “huge role” in preventing antisemitic content from spreading online. “We need to fight it together, because on the platforms which you lead, unfortunately, there’s a harboring of a lot of all the hate,” he told the X owner.
Referring to his meeting with Netanyahu, Musk called for three things to happen in Gaza: the killing of those who “insist on murdering civilians;” the overhaul of education, so a new generation of killers doesn’t take hold; and the economic development.
Watching Hamas militants kill innocents illustrated how propaganda can incite people to violence, the Tesla chief said. “These people have been fed propaganda since they were children. And it’s remarkable what humans are capable of if they’re fed falsehoods from when they are children. They will think that the murder of innocent people is a good thing. That is how much propaganda can affect people’s minds.”
Musk also reportedly reached a “principle understanding” with Israel to provide SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet in Gaza, according to Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, but only with Israeli approval.
Gaza has suffered several communications blackouts since the war began, effectively sealing off the Strip's residents from the outside world. However Israeli officials had warned Musk against providing satellite internet to aid organizations within Gaza, saying it would be used by Hamas.
“This understanding is vital, as is it for everyone who desires a better world, free of evil and free of anti-Semitism, for our children’s sake,” Karhi wrote in a post on X welcoming Musk to the country.
Musk has also said that he did not want Starlink to be used for offensive military actions. He rejected Ukraine's plea to turn on the service for an attack on Russian forces in Crimea. US defense department has since signed a contract with SpaceX for the use of the Starlink system.
As news of Musk's visit to Israel spread on social media, pro-Palestinian activists online called on the world's richest man to also visit Gaza, and hear from the victims and politicians in the besieged Strip. 'ElonVisitGaza' trended for several hours on X.
WATCH Elon Musk, Netanyahu tour Kibbutz in Israel