The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak has directed the military assets to be deployed to eastern Mediterranean to support Israel, reinforce regional stability and prevent escalation.
According to the statement released from the Prime Minister’s office on Thursday adding that maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft will begin flying in the region from Friday to track threats to regional stability such as the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups.
While the military package, which includes P8 aircraft, surveillance assets, two Royal Navy ships, RFA Lyme Bay and RFA Argus, three merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines, will be on standby to deliver practical support to Israel and partners in the region, and offer deterrence and assurance.
Meanwhile, a Royal Navy task group will be moved to the eastern Mediterranean next week as a contingency measure to support humanitarian efforts.
The Minister also asked for all military teams in Israel, Cyprus and across the region to be bolstered to support contingency planning and the efforts of neighbouring countries to deal with any spill over from instability in Israel.
It was disclosed that Sunak spoke to the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, today to understand the wider regional picture and underscore the importance of supporting civilians to leave Gaza, thanked President al-Sisi for Egypt’s assistance in helping British nationals in the area.
Reacting to this development, the Prime Minister said, “We must be unequivocal in making sure the types of horrific scenes we have seen this week will not be repeated. Alongside our allies, the deployment of our world class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation”.
He added that the United Kingdom military and diplomatic teams across region will also support international partners to re-establish security and ensure humanitarian aid reaches the thousands of innocent victims of this barbaric attack from Hamas terrorists.
The statement further said the Prime Minister is due to speak to northern European leaders about the situation in Israel at the Joint Expeditionary Force summit in Sweden on Friday.
They are expected to discuss the vital need to work with partners across the Middle East to support stability, while simultaneously remaining focussed on backing Ukraine’s defence against Russia.
He will also visit British warship HMS Diamond while in Gotland, Sweden, which is on patrol in northern Europe to reinforce security in the region.
While on board, the Prime Minister will hear about the capabilities of Diamond’s sister ship, HMS Duncan, which is deployed in the Mediterranean with NATO.
Adding that the package of military support, which will work alongside allies already in region, a significant demonstration of the UK’s support for Israel’s right to self-defence and will allow the UK to adapt to the needs of partners as the situation evolves over the coming weeks.
It was stated that the step change comes after the Prime Minister spoke to his counterpart from Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week, and the Defence Secretary discussed the situation with his NATO counterparts in Brussels.
The statement made mention how the Foreign Secretary visited Israel to see first hand destruction Hamas terrorists have caused to understand how the UK can support the efforts of the Israeli Government to ensure the safety and security of the Israeli people.
