In a move echoing a similar effort by the United States, Britain has announced plans to carry out surveillance flights over the Gaza Strip to aid in locating hostages, according to the country’s defense minister.
Confirming the decision, Grant Shapps, Britain’s defense secretary, emphasized the priority of securing the freedom of British hostages held by Hamas. The U.S. military has been conducting surveillance drone flights over Gaza to support hostage recovery since last month, with around 240 hostages taken during the surprise Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7. While a seven-day truce led to the release of 105 hostages, more than 100 remain in captivity, prompting the resumption of hostilities.
The Ministry of Defense assured that the British aircraft involved in surveillance would be unarmed, with no combat role, and solely tasked with locating hostages. The information gathered during these flights will be shared exclusively for the purpose of hostage rescue with the relevant authorities. According to a spokesman for Britain’s defense ministry, the initial surveillance flights will be conducted by Shadow R1 manned aircraft.
