The US has officially stated that they have been conducting surveillance flights with unarmed drones over Gaza.
Brig Gen Pat Ryder, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, mentioned that these drone operations were in line with “efforts to recover hostages.”
He further clarified that such drone missions commenced following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
This public statement was a response after journalists identified unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on flight monitoring platforms.
The Pentagon’s declaration on Friday articulated, “In support of our Israeli ally, the US is executing non-armed UAV missions over Gaza and furnishing advice for the hostage retrieval operations.”
The media’s attention was drawn when MQ-9 Reapers, generally managed by the US special forces, were observed orbiting Gaza on Flightradar24, a flight-tracking tool accessible to the public.
Though Reapers have been used for airstrikes in Afghanistan in the past, they are primarily reconnaissance planes, thanks to their capability to hover over zones for more than 20 hours continuously.
Sources from the US military, speaking anonymously, informed the New York Times that these drones weren’t aiding in directing Israeli military strategies in and near Gaza. They emphasized that any data pertaining to the rescue of hostages was shared with the Israeli authorities.
It’s worth noting that the region also sees other US remote-operated military assets in action.
Recently, the US Navy disclosed that they had launched lethal projectiles from an autonomous surface vessel (a type of speedboat) in the Arabian Sea’s international waters.
Highlighting the significance of this event, the Navy’s announcement stated that the launch on October 23 marked the debut of combat munition firing from such a vessel in the Middle East region.
Labeling it as a milestone, the US Navy remarked that this technological advancement elevates the American military prowess in the region.
In a related incident the previous month, the US Navy reported intercepting several drones and rockets emanating from Yemen, which seemed to be on course towards Israel.
