The Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, will officially announce the launch of the secure messaging platform called “Silent Courier” on Friday.
It is aimed at harnessing the anonymity of the dark web – the murky, hidden part of the internet often used by criminal actors – and allowing anyone, anywhere in the world, to securely contact the UK spy agency.

Users of the portal can securely pass on details about illicit activities anywhere in the world, or offer their own services, according to a Foreign Office statement.

Outgoing MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore – who is due to hand over to Blaise Metreweli later this month – will officially launch the web portal in Istanbul on Friday.

“Today we’re asking those with sensitive information on global instability, international terrorism or hostile state intelligence activity to contact MI6 securely online,” Moore is set to say when he formally announces the plans.

“Our virtual door is open to you,” he will add.

Instructions on how to use the portal will be publicly available on MI6’s verified YouTube channel.

Users have been encouraged to access it through VPNs and devices not linked to themselves.

MI6 was established in 1909 but was not officially acknowledged by the UK government until the 1990s.

The spy agency operates from the iconic SIS Building on the banks of the River Thames in London and only its head – known as “C” – is a publicly named member of the service.

In advance of the portal’s launch, new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that “national security is the first duty of any government and the bedrock of the prime minister’s Plan for Change” – referring to a national revitalisation plan outlined by the premier and Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in December.

“As the world changes, and the threats we’re facing multiply, we must ensure the UK is always one step ahead of our adversaries,” Cooper said.

“Now we’re bolstering their efforts with cutting-edge tech so MI6 can recruit new spies for the UK – in Russia and around the world,” she added.

The US’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) took a similar approach in 2023, when it published videos on social media attempting to recruit potential Russian spies.

This scene is tragically common across hospitals in Gaza, where medical facilities are barely functioning under the weight of mass casualties and severe shortages of supplies. Shock and sorrow grip the community as survivors recount the terror of yet another night of relentless Israeli airstrikes.

“We were shocked late at night to see strikes and attacks on Gaza like in the early days of the war,” one survivor said. “I was with my family when suddenly a massive attack hit our residential block. It killed so many from my family. Some are still buried under the rubble. So far, we have managed to recover 26 bodies from my family and 20 others who were with us.”

Similar tragedies unfold across Gaza, from the central region to the north. People’s worst fears are materializing as the war intensifies, fueling displacement, destruction, and an unending cycle of death. The humanitarian situation has worsened dramatically in recent weeks, with Israel tightening its siege on Gaza, leading to widespread famine, dehydration, and starvation.

At Al-Ahli Hospital, grief and despair dominate the air as families come to claim the bodies of their loved ones. Some are loaded onto carts pulled by animals, a tragic testament to the lack of resources and the sheer scale of loss. Many of the shrouds are heartbreakingly small, marking the deaths of young children. In one particularly harrowing moment, a father laid the body of his child atop the body of the child’s mother, a painful image of a family torn apart.

Everywhere in the hospital courtyard, more bodies continue to arrive. The facility, already stretched beyond its limits, lacks the resources to provide proper medical care to those still clinging to life. The death toll continues to mount, with women and children making up the majority of victims.

As Gaza’s hospitals buckle under the weight of mass casualties, the world watches in horror, yet the bombardment continues. The war’s devastation knows no bounds, and for many in Gaza, survival is becoming an increasingly impossible battle.

News source- Al Jazeera

In one particularly harrowing account, a Palestinian resident described the horror of seeing an entire family killed in an instant. “All of them in pieces, and our house collapsed on us,” the survivor recounted. Their home, located directly next to the targeted residence, was severely damaged in the explosion. Rescue workers are still pulling bodies from beneath the debris, desperately searching for survivors in what has been described as the most intense assault since January 19th.

The latest wave of bombings comes after Israel seemingly unilaterally ended a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that had been in place since January. Hamas has now called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene and bring an end to the attacks, urging international pressure on Israel to halt its military campaign.

The Israeli military, however, insists that the renewed airstrikes are necessary, claiming they are operating under the direct orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli officials have stated that the intensification of military action is in response to stalled negotiations over the release of Israeli captives and Hamas’s refusal to accept proposed agreements.

The White House has confirmed that Israel consulted the Trump administration prior to launching the strikes, signaling Washington’s continued involvement in the conflict. Officials have warned that there will be consequences, raising the specter of an all-out return to full-scale war.

As the conflict rages on, the Palestinian death toll has climbed beyond 60,000, marking yet another grim milestone in a war that has spanned 17 months with no clear end in sight. The international community remains divided on how to respond, but for those on the ground in Gaza, survival is the only priority as they brace for further attacks in the days to come.

News source- Al Jazeera