Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Britain will deploy a Royal Navy task group to the eastern Mediterranean and from Friday will conduct military surveillance missions in the region in a show of support for Israel.
The UK government announced on Thursday that the Royal Air Force will fly P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft to track the transfer of weapons to terrorists in the area.
From next week two Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, RFA Argus and RFA Lyme Bay, plus three Merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines, will also be deployed.
The government described the naval task force as a “contingency measure” to support humanitarian efforts and to provide “deterrence and assurance”.
The RFA vessels will sail from Libya where they have been providing humanitarian support in the wake of catastrophic flooding, according to a UK government official.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain was acting in concert with allies, adding: “The deployment of our world class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation.”
The UK is also bolstering other military teams in Israel and across the region. This includes deploying more personnel to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a key UK strategic air base.
The move comes after Washington announced it was deploying a carrier strike group, led by the USS Gerard R Ford aircraft carrier, to the region.
Britain’s P-8 Poseidon spy planes are more commonly flown over water to hunt submarines, but they also boast an overland surveillance capability.
Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said the Royal Navy task group, RAF operations and Britain’s “wider military support” was an “undeniable display of the UK’s resolve to ensure Hamas’s terrorist campaign fails, whilst reminding those who seek to inflame tensions that the forces of freedom stand with the Israeli people”.
The UK has been steadfast in asserting Israel’s right to self-defence and has stepped up its military support after Sunak spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week and James Cleverly, the UK foreign secretary, visited the nation, where he met victims of Hamas’s attack.
Britain has also offered support to Egypt to keep its border with Gaza open as a humanitarian and consular route, according to Downing Street.
Sunak spoke with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday and noted “the importance of Egypt’s historic role in the region, including in seeking de-escalation”, Number 10 said.
Sunak acknowledged the “challenging security situation” at Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with Gaza and “offered the UK’s support to try to manage this situation and keep the route open for humanitarian and consular reasons, including for British nationals”, his spokesperson added.
The UK prime minister said terrorism was an evil that had to be confronted wherever it occurred. Sunak stressed it was “important that the conflict did not spread further”, Downing Street said.
Britain has also organised commercial flights to evacuate UK citizens and their dependants wanting to leave Israel after several major airlines, including Ryanair, suspended flights to the country following the outbreak of conflict with Hamas.
British Airways followed suit on Wednesday after one of its planes was forced to turn back to Heathrow shortly before reaching Tel Aviv owing to security concerns.
The UK government has also sent a team to Israel to assist British citizens on the ground.
