A media report said that officials in Cyprus confirmed that a drone, launched by Hezbollah, targeted the British Royal Air Force base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, last Monday. A scathing opinion article by British journalist Jake Wallis Simons stated that the British government in Downing Street prefers to wait and wait for the situation to calm down, despite the direct infection.
According to the article, which spread in the Israeli media, the writer strongly criticized what he called the “inability of the British government” in the face of the growing threat, stressing that it is Israel that is currently fighting to defend Western interests.
The report also indicated that while Greece and France were quick to send warships to protect military bases on the island, Britain is still awaiting the arrival of its warship, which is advancing slowly. The writer considered that “Britain’s only luck” is that Israel is doing what he described as “dirty work” on its behalf.
The article added that Hezbollah, despite the heavy losses it suffered, still possesses a large arsenal of missiles and drones, and does not hesitate to use them even against British targets. He pointed out that the ground operation carried out by the Israeli army in Lebanon aims to create a new security reality that also provides indirect protection for the United Kingdom.
Simmons reminded his readers that Hezbollah was never just an Israeli problem. Over the years, the organization and its networks have directly targeted British citizens and soldiers. In the 1980s, British journalists and humanitarian workers were kidnapped and detained in Lebanon for years, and during the Iraq War British soldiers were attacked by Iranian-backed militias.
The writer also pointed out that in 2019, thanks to intelligence information provided by the Israeli Mossad, the British security services revealed a Hezbollah factory in north London for producing explosives, which contained about three tons of ammonium nitrate. The article considered that the party operates as an “international criminal organization” that finances its activities through drug trafficking and money laundering.
The article strongly criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, considering that he is acting for internal political motives and with the aim of preserving the votes of some Muslim voters, while the British army suffers from chronic neglect, as he put it.
Simons concluded his article by expressing his deep disappointment with the current situation in Britain, saying that a country that produced historical leaders such as Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher finds itself today “sitting on the sidelines,” while Israel – which Starmer has repeatedly criticized recently – has become, according to his description, “the protective shield for Britain and the entire West.”
