UK sends ships, Royal Marines and spy planes to help Israel as Germany lends drones to bomb Gaza and US warships ‘ready’

BRITAIN will send ships, planes and marines to the eastern Mediterranean in a show of military support for Israel.

Royal Navy patrol ships, spy planes and soldiers will travel to the region tomorrow to “monitor threats to regional stability”, Number 10 said.

RFA Lyme Bay will be deployed to the Mediterranean in support of Britain’s ally, Israel

RFA Argus will also be deployed to assist Israel in monitoring any threats to regional stability

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on Thursday

RAF likely to send Rivet Joint Aircraft – world’s most sophisticated spy planesCredit: Alamy

The US also sent the USS Gerald R Ford to the Mediterranean SeaCredit: AFP

Rishi Sunak tonight approved the military package, while the government will also begin stepping up evacuation flights for Britons who are there.

It is believed that around 60,000 British nationals are currently in Israel and Gaza.

The prime minister said the government “must be unequivocal” in its support to ensure the “horrific scenes” unfolding in Israel “do not happen again”.

“Along with our allies, the deployment of our world-class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation,” he added.

The military package includes P8 aircraft, surveillance assets, two Royal Navy ships – Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels Lyme Bay and Argus – three Merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines.

Britain’s armed forces will be on standby to “provide practical support to Israel and partners in the region, and offer deterrence and security”, No 10 said.

A Royal Navy task force will also be moved to the eastern Mediterranean next week as a contingency measure to support humanitarian efforts.

Two reconnaissance aircraft will fly to the British RAF base Akrotiri in Cyprus tomorrow.

From there, they can conduct surveillance missions over Gaza and Israel.

They will be used to monitor threats, including “weapons transfers to terrorist groups”, Downing Street said.

It comes as…

Great Britain, USA and Germany send military aid as a sign of unity with Israel
Israel has prepared 360,000 soldiers for a possible invasion of Gaza
Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to crush Hamas and compared it to ISIS
Horrific details of Hamas’ terrorist rampage continue to emerge
17 Britons, including a six-month-old baby, are feared missing or dead
Israel launched attacks on Syrian airports in Aleppo and Damascus
Dozens of people are still missing – including tattoo artist Shani Louk

Since Hamas crossed the border into Israel on Saturday, Western countries have rushed to help their ally – and Britain has now joined the US and Germany in sending reinforcements.

The show of military force is aimed at deterring further aggression by terrorist groups that might try to take advantage of the situation, particularly Iran-backed Hezbollah militants based in Lebanon.

Two strike groups of US warships have now reached the waters near Israel, including the USS Gerald R. Ford – the world’s largest aircraft carrier.

The team operating the ship tweeted today: “On scene, on time, ready. Gerald R. Ford’s first deployment.”

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is also expected to sail from Virginia on Friday.

And US special forces are helping the Israeli military with planning and intelligence as they seek to end Hamas terror in the country.

Today, Germany confirmed it will lend two combat drones for support.

“We will provide the two drones that the Israelis requested. In addition, there are initial requests for munitions for the ships that we will now discuss with the Israelis,” Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

He added: “We stand with Israel.”

At today’s joint press conference with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked America for its support in the fight against the “barbarians from Hamas”.

“Hamas has proven to be the enemy of civilization,” the prime minister said as he vowed to crush Hamas just as he did ISIS.

Blinken pledged that the United States would “always” support Israel.

“You may be strong enough to defend yourself, but as long as America exists, you will never have to,” he said.

Meanwhile, Israel has blitzed two Syrian airports and rendered them unusable in response to fresh exchanges of fire across the border by terrorists.

Airports in Aleppo and Damascus are “down” after withering attacks from Israel as fears grow that Syria and Iran could enter into conflict.

Recent footage shows Aleppo airport on fire after an attack earlier today, with Damascus airport also badly hit.

The airstrikes were in response to new threats as militants in both Lebanon and Syria launched rockets over Israel’s northern border.

This raised fears that the conflict would open new fronts and spread across the Middle East.

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, told Sky News that Israel had been “concerned for some time” that Hezbollah could “escalate the situation”.

“We don’t want to see an escalation in the north, but if a two-front war is imposed on us, we will not be surprised. We are ready, we are ready and we will win,” he said.

“It’s not easy, but no war is ever easy. We’ve planned for that possibility… and we can fight, if necessary, a war on two fronts.”

Yesterday, concerns that Hezbollah had sent “hostile” planes into Israel were later debunked by the Israel Defense Forces.