UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has directed UK military assets to be deployed to the eastern Mediterranean to support Israel in its conflict with Hamas and to “reinforce regional stability and prevent escalation”, a UK government press release stated on 13 October 2023.
The UK deployment involves P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft, which began operations in the region on 13 October, along with a Royal Navy task group consisting of the auxiliary landing ship dock RFA Lyme Bay, the primary casualty receiving ship RFA Argus, an embarked company of Royal Marines and three Merlin helicopters.
The UK government release stated that the P-8s will be used “to track threats to regional stability such as the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups”, while the Royal Navy task group “will be on standby to deliver practical support to Israel and partners in the region, and offer deterrence and assurance”.
It added, “The Prime Minister has 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.”
UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was quoted in the UK government press release as saying, “The monstrous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas in recent days have proven why the UK must support Israel’s absolute right to self-defence and deter malign external interference. No nation should stand alone in the face of such evil and today’s deployment will ensure Israel does not.
“The Royal Navy Task Group, RAF operations and our wider military support will be 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,” Shapps added.
The UK military deployment in support of Israel follows moves by the United States, which moved the USS Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean in the wake of the Hamas attack and bolstered its fighter aircraft presence in the region.
US President Joe Biden also announced on 10 October, “We’re surging additional military assistance, including ammunition, and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome. We are going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens.”
Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system received significant funding from the United States. As part of the agreement for that a joint venture between Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and US missile producer Raytheon Technologies was announced in 2020 to build Iron Dome components, including the system’s Tamir interceptors, in the United States.
