Visitors stand in front of an Heron TP drone at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018.
REUTERS/Axel Schmidt/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsFRANKFURT, Oct 11 (Reuters) - 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 Wednesday, 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.
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.
Persons:
Axel Schmidt, Boris Pistorius, Spiegel, Israel, Ludwig Burger, Sabine Siebold, Nick Macfie, Rod Nickel
Organizations:
ILA, REUTERS, Rights, Palestinian, Hamas, Reuters, Spiegel, IAI, German, Gaza's Health Ministry, Thomson
Locations:
Berlin, Germany, Israel, Gaza