WASHINGTON: For the first time, the US admitted that it has been using unarmed surveillance drones over Gaza. According to Pentagon spokesperson Brig Gen Pat Ryder, the drones were in operation to aid in the hostage-recovery attempts.
He said in a brief statement, “These UAV flights began after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.” Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) were observed by reporters on flight-tracking websites, prompting the acknowledgment.
The statement by the Pentagon on Friday said, “The US is conducting unarmed UAV flights over Gaza, as well as providing advice and assistance to support our Israeli partner as they work on their hostage recovery efforts.”
The confirmation follows observations by journalists who spotted MQ-9 Reapers, typically operated by American special forces, conducting surveillance flights over Gaza on Flightradar24, a publicly accessible flight-tracking website.
Reaper drones have been previously utilized for airstrikes in Afghanistan, but their primary role is surveillance due to their capability to remain in a specific area for over 20 hours continuously.
Unnamed US military sources informed the New York Times that the drones were not involved in coordinating Israeli military operations in and around Gaza. Instead, they shared information about hostage recovery with Israeli authorities.
These are not the sole remotely operated American military assets in the area. On Thursday, the US Navy disclosed that it had deployed lethal munitions from an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), essentially a high-speed boat, in the international waters of the Arabian Sea.
The US Navy stated that on October 23, it conducted the first test of firing combat munitions from a USV in the Middle East. This development is seen as enhancing American military capabilities in the region.
In a related move, the US Navy had previously announced the successful interception of multiple drones and rockets fired from Yemen, which appeared to be heading towards Israel.
Additionally, the US has deployed two battleships to the eastern Mediterranean, with the stated purpose of preventing the conflict between Hamas and Israel from spreading further.
The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, in a fiery speech on Friday, warned Washington against using the ships to attack the militant group. “Your fleets in the Mediterranean do not scare us and will never scare us,” said Hassan Nasrallah.
