Pentagon confirms U.S. spy drones over Gaza --The admission comes after journalists spotted Reaper drones circling the Palestinian enclave | 4 Nov 2023 | The U.S. military has acknowledged carrying out “unarmed” drone flights over the Gaza Strip, saying the UAVs were deployed to help locate hostages taken by Hamas. American officials cited by the media insist the aircraft are not supporting Israeli operations in the area. In a brief statement on Friday, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder confirmed that the drone missions "began after the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel," during which the Palestinian militant group took over 200 hostages."In support of hostage recovery efforts, the U.S. is conducting unarmed UAV flights over Gaza, as well as providing advice and assistance to support our Israeli partner as they work on their hostage recovery efforts," Ryder said.