US launches MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drones over Gaza Strip
These drones are not involved in Israeli military operations, but are looking for hostages
According to U.S. officials, U.S. reconnaissance drones are flying over the Gaza Strip to help search for Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.
Source. Reuters and CBS, citing anonymous officials, report that the drone flights have been going on for more than a week.
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Some of these drones have been spotted on Flightradar24, a publicly available flight tracking website.
The New York Times reports that the drones operating in Gaza are mostly MQ-9 Reaper drones, which do not carry weapons. The newspaper writes, citing a flight-tracking expert, that at least six MQ-9s have been spotted.
According to the NYT, these drones are not involved in the Israeli military operation.
MQ-9 Reaper drones (also sometimes called Predator B) have been widely used by the US military in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria, and are also used by the British Air Force and the Italian military.
Israel does not have them in service, instead using its own domestically produced drones.
Background. As a reminder, Israel has accused Russia of trying to divert attention from the war in Ukraine.
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