UK forces may be deployed to help deliver Gaza aid

British troops could beryllium deployed connected the crushed successful Gaza to assistance present assistance via a caller oversea route, the BBC has learned.

The US has said nary American forces would spell ashore and an unnamed "third party" would thrust trucks on a floating causeway onto the beach.

The UK is understood to beryllium considering tasking British troops with this erstwhile the assistance corridor opens adjacent month.

Whitehall sources said nary determination had been made and the contented had not yet crossed the premier minister's desk.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Israeli service declined to comment.

Britain has been intimately progressive successful readying the sea-borne assistance cognition and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the UK continued to instrumentality "a starring relation successful the transportation of enactment successful coordination with the US and different planetary allies".

The imaginable relation for British forces - known arsenic "wet boots" by subject planners - would spot them thrust trucks disconnected landing trade onto the impermanent causeway and present assistance to a unafraid organisation country ashore.

Although a immense effort would beryllium made to support allied forces some disconnected and onshore, British troops would perchance look a higher hazard of onslaught from Hamas and different equipped groups.

On Wednesday, a United Nations squad had to instrumentality screen erstwhile mortars landed adjacent the planned organisation zone.

Aid would beryllium delivered determination from Cyprus connected ample ships earlier being transferred into trucks and smaller landing craft. They said the floating causeway would beryllium "several 100 metres long" and anchored firmly into the sand.

They said they hoped the caller maritime corridor - which they telephone the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore (JLOTS) cognition - would yet present up to 150 trucks per day.

The purpose is to adhd to - but not regenerate - assistance deliveries by onshore that are inactive insufficient to conscionable the need. On mean astir 220 assistance trucks per time are presently getting into Gaza by road.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said it volition supply "security and logistics enactment for the JLOTS initiative… to heighten the introduction of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip".

Israel's subject volition beryllium liable for anchoring the floating causeway to the formation and has been practising however to bash this with American forces further northbound connected the Israeli coast.

In a briefing with journalists, a elder US subject authoritative said due to the fact that determination would beryllium nary American boots connected the ground, hundreds of US soldiers and sailors would unrecorded and slumber astatine oversea connected a UK naval vessel, RFA Cardigan Bay.

He besides made wide US forces would not instrumentality the assistance ashore and alternatively that relation would beryllium carried retired by a "significant partner". He confirmed this would beryllium different nation, not a backstage subject company.

"We person a 3rd enactment who volition beryllium driving the trucks down the pier," the US subject authoritative said. "Just a constituent of emphasis, determination volition beryllium nary US subject boots connected the ground. So, a 3rd enactment is driving those trucks."

Despite questioning from journalists, helium refused to sanction the 3rd party.

One UK root said thing had been decided but determination was a statement going connected astir "do we enactment bedewed boots connected the beach, bash we thrust trucks onto the pier?".

The MoD declined to remark astir the proposition UK forces mightiness thrust trucks ashore, but Mr Shapps said the unit of RFA Cardigan Bay were cardinal to the UK's contribution, adding: "It is captious we found much routes for captious humanitarian assistance to scope the radical of Gaza."

He said specializer British subject readying teams had been embedded wrong the US operational HQ successful Tampa, Florida - arsenic good arsenic successful Cyprus - for respective weeks to assistance make the safest and astir effectual maritime route.

The UK Hydrographic Office has besides shared investigation of the Gazan enactment with US planners to make the pier.

More than six months into Israel's subject operations successful the Gaza Strip, implicit fractional of its colonisation of 2.2 cardinal is crammed into the confederate metropolis of Rafah.

The UN has warned of a humanitarian catastrophe and Israel has faced planetary disapproval for limiting the magnitude of assistance reaching civilians by land.

The Hamas-run wellness ministry successful Gaza says much than 34,000 radical person been killed successful Gaza since the warfare began connected 7 October.

The IDF launched the violative aft astir 1,200 Israelis and foreigners - mostly civilians - were killed and 253 others were taken backmost to Gaza arsenic hostages, according to Israeli tallies.