British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps reiterated his country’s intention to conduct reconnaissance flights with unarmed drones in the eastern Mediterranean, including the airspace in Israel and Gaza.
Shapps explained in statements to members of the House of Commons on Tuesday that any information collected by reconnaissance aircraft regarding the detainees will be transferred to the relevant authorities, without naming them.
Regarding the issue of bringing aid into Gaza, the British minister explained that his country is working to distribute emergency humanitarian aid to the Strip by land, sea and air. At the same time, he revealed that the obstacle facing the entry of aid lies in the method of entering it through the Rafah crossing, and that work is underway to search for alternative methods.
Regarding the security situation in the Gulf of Aden, the British Defense Minister said that his country decided to send the destroyer HMS Diamond to the Gulf of Aden to confront the threats of Ansar Allah Al-Houthi.
The British Ministry of Defense announced – last Saturday – that it would conduct reconnaissance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including the airspace over Israel and the Gaza Strip, with the aim of providing intelligence information to Tel Aviv under the pretext of supporting the “detainee rescue operation.”
The ministry said that London has been working with its partners in the region since October 7 to ensure the release of detainees, including British citizens, and indicated that the safety of its citizens is Britain’s top priority.
The response of Hamas and Jihad
The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Islamic Jihad condemned Britain’s intention to fly surveillance planes over Gaza, and considered this a direct participation in the Israeli “genocidal” war against the Gaza Strip and the massacres committed there.
The Hamas movement said – in a statement on the Telegram platform yesterday, Sunday – that “Britain’s disclosure of its army’s intention to carry out intelligence flights over the Gaza Strip makes it a partner with the Zionist occupation in its crimes, and responsible for the massacres to which the Palestinian people are subjected.”
Hamas believed that “London should have corrected its historical position that was offensive to the Palestinian people, and atone for the Balfour Declaration (1917), which is considered the sin of the century, instead of committing another sin and reminding the world of its shameful colonial past,” according to the statement.
Hamas stated – in its statement – that Britain’s intention to conduct “reconnaissance missions” over the Gaza Strip puts the British government itself at enmity with the Palestinian people and all free people in the world who reject the Israeli aggression against Gaza.
The movement called on Britain to withdraw what it described as its direct participation and political and financial support for the war of genocide against Gaza, and to stop its subordination to the United States, as well as its contribution to igniting wars, instead of contributing to peace and stability in the region.
In turn, the Islamic Jihad movement said that Britain’s announcement of the participation of its air force in intelligence missions in the Gaza Strip is an actual participation in the Israeli aggression.
Since last October 7, the Israeli army has launched a continuous aggression against Gaza, leaving nearly 16,000 martyrs and tens of thousands wounded, in addition to massive destruction in residential neighborhoods, vital facilities, and hospitals.
