They would need an awful lot of them. There's currently about 4500 Starlink satellites already in orbit. SpaceX can launch 20+ of the new heavier version (or 50+ of the older lighter version but I think they don't build them anymore) on a single rocket (which of course is mostly reusable). They've never published satellite production rates but it's currently at least 150 new-version satellites per month, because that's how many they've launched so far in October 2023 alone. They're not making them the old bespoke way where a single one-off satellite design takes a year or more to build. They've got assembly lines cranking them out. Starlink operates with lots of network redundancies, so you'd probably need to take out more than half of the satellites to make the network unusable. Can Israel build a hundred ASAT missiles every month that have 100% accuracy? Do they have a stockpile of 2000+ right now?
I think the Israeli government's likely path here will be pressuring the US government to crack down on SpaceX. It'll be framed in the media as a counter-terrorism measure. The funny thing though is that SpaceX has an extremely strong negotiating hand to play due to the space industry being in a weird transition period. Most other companies' older rockets are no longer available for new launch bookings, and newer rockets are not ready yet. The US government needs someone to launch their military comms and spy satellites which are big and heavy and usually go to really high orbits (which takes a more powerful rocket). They have to launch on domestic rockets for national-security-law reasons. There's only a few rockets available that fit that bill:
SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Active production.
ULA's Lockheed-designed Atlas V. Only 17 more launches possible due engine availability problems. It uses Russian engines that are now unavailable due to sanctions.
ULA's Boeing-design Delta IV. Only 1 more launch possible, scheduled for February 2024, and then it's permanently retired.
Northrop Grumman's Antares 200-series. Only 3 more launches possible due to engine availability - it also uses now-unavailable Russian engines.
The rest of the available domestic rockets are basically:
Never been flight-tested yet (Vulcan, Antares 300-series)
Not even been built for testing yet (Neutron, New Glenn)
Costing a ridiculous amount of money and taking 2+ years to build each rocket (SLS)
Designed for really lightweight satellites or cargo deliveries to low orbit (Electron, Minotaur, Pegasus)
ULA's Vulcan was designed as the replacement for both Atlas V and Delta IV and is actually a pretty sensible design. There's one built and ready for its test flight. The problem is that Vulcan uses an engine called BE-4, produced by Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin. The same engine will power Blue Origin's own planned rocket New Glenn. Blue Origin is years late in delivering production-quality engines. Another fun fact about Blue Origin is that, despite having been founded before SpaceX, and despite Bezos showering the company with his personal cash, they have never even attempted to launch an orbital rocket. They have not put one gram of cargo into orbit. They're not exactly breaking speed records on the R&D front.
They would need an awful lot of them. There's currently about 4500 Starlink satellites already in orbit. SpaceX can launch 20+ of the new heavier version (or 50+ of the older lighter version but I think they don't build them anymore) on a single rocket (which of course is mostly reusable). They've never published satellite production rates but it's currently at least 150 new-version satellites per month, because that's how many they've launched so far in October 2023 alone. They're not making them the old bespoke way where a single one-off satellite design takes a year or more to build. They've got assembly lines cranking them out. Starlink operates with lots of network redundancies, so you'd probably need to take out more than half of the satellites to make the network unusable. Can Israel build a hundred ASAT missiles every month that have 100% accuracy? Do they have a stockpile of 2000+ right now?
I think the Israeli government's likely path here will be pressuring the US government to crack down on SpaceX. It'll be framed in the media as a counter-terrorism measure. The funny thing though is that SpaceX has an extremely strong negotiating hand to play due to the space industry being in a weird transition period. Most other companies' older rockets are no longer available for new launch bookings, and newer rockets are not ready yet. The US government needs someone to launch their military comms and spy satellites which are big and heavy and usually go to really high orbits (which takes a more powerful rocket). They have to launch on domestic rockets for national-security-law reasons. There's only a few rockets available that fit that bill:
SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy. Active production.
ULA's Lockheed-designed Atlas V. Only 17 more launches possible due engine availability problems. It uses Russian engines that are now unavailable due to sanctions.
ULA's Boeing-design Delta IV. Only 1 more launch possible, scheduled for February 2024, and then it's permanently retired.
Northrop Grumman's Antares 200-series. Only 3 more launches possible due to engine availability - it also uses now-unavailable Russian engines.
The rest of the available domestic rockets are basically:
Never been flight-tested yet (Vulcan, Antares 300-series)
Not even been built for testing yet (Neutron, New Glenn)
Costing a ridiculous amount of money and taking 2+ years to build each rocket (SLS)
Designed for really lightweight satellites or cargo deliveries to low orbit (Electron, Minotaur, Pegasus)
ULA's Vulcan was designed as the replacement for both Atlas V and Delta IV and is actually a pretty sensible design. There's one built and ready for its test flight. The problem is that Vulcan uses an engine called BE-4, produced by Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin. The same engine will power Blue Origin's own planned rocket New Glenn. Blue Origin is years late in delivering production-quality engines. Another fun fact about Blue Origin is that, despite having been founded before SpaceX, and despite Bezos showering the company with his personal cash, they have never even attempted to launch an orbital rocket. They have not put one gram of cargo into orbit. They're not exactly breaking speed records on the R&D front.