US uses UAVs to find hostages, France sends more helicopter carriers near Gaza

According to a Reuters report on November 2, two unnamed US officials said that the US forces are currently deploying intelligence-gathering drones in Gaza to support efforts to locate the hostages. One of the officials revealed that the US has been deploying this mission for more than a week.

According to US officials, 10 of their citizens who are still missing may be among more than 200 people held hostage in Gaza, the territory that Hamas has ruled since 2007. These hostages are likely being held in Hamas' vast network of underground tunnels in Gaza.

The news comes as Israel announced it had laid siege to Gaza City, days after it expanded its offensive against Hamas. Israel has rejected calls for a ceasefire to free hostages and deliver aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Israel bombarded Gaza on November 2

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to arrive in Israel on November 3, in his latest diplomatic push in the region in less than a month. As he leaves Washington DC on November 2, Blinken said he plans to urge Israel to agree to a temporary ceasefire in several locations in Gaza to allow humanitarian aid into the area and help people escape safely.

Mr. Blinken is also expected to meet with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in the country's capital Amman on November 4. As a member of the Arab world, Jordan has escalated tensions with Israel, accusing its neighbor of war crimes in Gaza.

At the White House, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on November 2 that they were considering a series of temporary ceasefire points in Gaza, but reiterated that Washington did not support a complete ceasefire. According to Mr. Kirby, establishing temporary ceasefire points is only a short-term and partial measure, and emphasized that this would not interfere with Israel's right to self-defense.

Helicopter carrier

In another development, France will send another helicopter carrier to the waters near Gaza, in a coordinated effort with Israeli and Egyptian authorities to find ways to provide medical assistance to those injured in the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Speaking on France Info radio, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the helicopter carrier Dixmude "is being equipped to be converted into a hospital ship" and will be deployed to the region.

Paris earlier deployed the Tonnerre helicopter carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to support hospitals in Gaza, according to French President Emmanuel Macron. Egypt this week began accepting a limited number of wounded across its border with Gaza.

However, it is unclear what the French ships will do in the area, as they are too small to serve as field hospitals for the wounded from Gaza. A French military source told Reuters that the Tonnerre, with about 60 beds and two operating rooms, could only be used temporarily and as a backup for a larger hospital on the mainland.

Asked how the actual evacuation from land to sea would work, Mr Lecornu said it was still in the planning stages and that France was still in discussions with officials in Egypt and Israel. But he hoped the decision to send a French ship would encourage other countries to follow suit, increasing their ability to respond to medical needs in conflict.

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