The British Ministry of Defence announced that "the British Army will conduct reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip to help identify the locations of hostages held by Hamas."

The British Ministry of Defence said in a statement published on Saturday evening, "In support of ongoing hostage rescue operations, the British Ministry of Defence will conduct reconnaissance flights over the eastern Mediterranean, including operations in the airspace over Israel and Gaza."

The ministry also confirmed that "the surveillance aircraft will be unarmed, will have no combat role, and their mission will be solely to locate the hostages."

According to the statement, "information related to hostage rescue will only be passed on to the competent authorities responsible for rescuing the hostages."

London has not announced the number of British nationals held hostage.

On the third day after the end of a 7-day truce, during which a ceasefire between Hamas and the Israeli army took place and prisoners were exchanged, Israeli forces intensified their raids, especially in the central south of the Gaza Strip.