The UK’s military will conduct surveillance flights over Israel and Gaza to search for hostages held by Hamas since its October 7 attack on Israel, Britain’s defence ministry said.
The move comes after Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza after the truce expired on Friday. There are still thought to be more than 130 hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Why Will the UK Deploy Surveillance Aircraft?
Hamas militants seized around 240 Israelis and foreign hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Around 110 have since been freed, mainly during a recent week-long truce. Moreover, five British nationals are missing and the UK government has not said how many could be held by Hamas.
Israel’s military said on Friday it had resumed fighting in the besieged Palestinian territory. The resumption of the offensive in Gaza has frustrated hopes for the swift release of the more than 130 captives the Israeli army has said are still being held in Gaza.
The UK has said at least 12 British nationals were killed in the October 7 attacks in which Israeli officials say about 1,200 people died.
What to Know About the Surveillance Aircraft
As per the UK Defence Ministry, the officials will use a range of unarmed aircraft for the reconnaissance flights, including Shadow R1s, which are used for intelligence gathering.
The Shadow R1, using a combination of sensors, contributes to the comprehensive intelligence gathering of the British Royal Air Force’s Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Force.
Developed by Raytheon, the Shadow R1 is modified to perform the manned tactical aerial surveillance duties for the UK Special Forces.
However, the UK did not reveal when its military surveillance flights over the territory would start but stressed they would be unarmed and focused only on hostage recovery efforts.
UK government minister Victoria Atkins told the BBC on Sunday that the aircraft to be utilised were “unarmed and unmanned drones”.
“In support of the ongoing hostage rescue activity, the UK Ministry of Defence will conduct surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean, including operating in air space over Israel and Gaza,” it said in a statement.
The surveillance aircraft will be unarmed, will have no combat role in the war and will be tasked solely to locate hostages, the ministry added.
What Will the Aircraft Do?
The aircraft will pass the information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities responsible for hostage rescue.
“Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authorities responsible for hostage rescue,” the statement said.
The Pentagon earlier this month said they have deployed unarmed UAV drones over Gaza in “support of hostage recovery efforts.”
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