Germany clears Israel's use of two Heron TP combat drones, source says

Germany has given Israel the go-ahead to use two Heron TP combat drones in its counter-attack against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, a defence source told Reuters on October 11, confirming a report by Spiegel magazine.

Germany has leased five of these drones from Israel's arms maker IAI (ISRAI.UL), with two of them still deployed in Israel for training German drone pilots, the source said.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday approved a request by Israel to use the drones, Spiegel reported, adding the 16 German pilots in training were returning home because of the Hamas attack.

A spokesperson for the defence ministry in Berlin said she could not immediately comment on the Spiegel report.

The defence source said Israel had also asked Germany whether it could provide flak jackets, medical equipment and treatment for wounded people in German hospitals.

Israel's death toll rose to 1,200 on October 11 with over 2,700 wounded, its military said, from Hamas militants' hours-long rampage after breaching the fence enclosing Gaza on October 7.

Israeli reprisal strikes on blockaded Gaza have killed 1,100 people and wounded 5,339, Gaza's Health Ministry said.