Summary
- The UK military operates spy planes over the Gaza
Strip.
- Planes aim to locate hostages not yet released.
- Intelligence is shared with Israel in real-time.
- RAF flights originate from Cyprus base, ongoing
missions.
- The Ministry of Defence refuses to disclose specific
aircraft.
Flight tracking data shows that Shadow R1 planes, which are sophisticated spy planes with precise electro-optical sensors, conducted hundreds of sorties over Gaza until last month, when they took off from the British Akrotiri base in Cyprus.
However, the British Ministry of Defense
declined to disclose which planes were used.
Although no Shadow flights have been seen in recent days, the British Defense Ministry clarified that the aerial reconnaissance missions in Gaza "are still ongoing." A source in the Royal Air Force was quoted in the article as saying that the Shadow jets had returned to Britain, but it was not clear which aircraft had replaced them on sensitive missions. The Shadow jet is operated by the RAF's 14 Squadron, based in Lincolnshire. The squadron's motto, written in Arabic, is taken from the Koran:
"I spread my wings and fulfill my promise."
The British claim that intelligence is being transferred to Israel only for the purposes of rescuing the hostages, but British Major General (res.) Charlie Herbert expressed doubts:
"It is all well and good to say that intelligence is being transferred to Israel for the purposes of locating the hostages, but in practice it could also be used for attacks against Hamas and others."
The Poseidon P8 and the Rivet Joint aircraft,
which can intercept communications and electronic equipment from the ground,
are among the other RAF aircraft reportedly operating in the region.
According to the Times, British observation
planes have been conducting nearly daily flights over Gaza since October 7 in
order to obtain sensitive information on ground movements. In the UK, concerns
have been raised concerning what British eyewitnesses in the skies might have
witnessed during the 20 months of conflict because of the frequent and
continuous sorties over the Strip.
According to the journal, Britain's military
assistance to Israel persisted even after the new Labour administration
promised to recognize a Palestinian state unless humanitarian conditions in
Gaza improved and imposed sanctions on ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel
Smotrich. IDF soldiers' attacks on Palestinians looking for food were deemed
"appalling" by Foreign Minister David Lammy, who also warned of
additional penalties. Furthermore, the British government had already declared
that, if necessary, it would think about turning over intelligence gathered
during the reconnaissance flights over Gaza to the International Criminal Court
(ICC).
The Times claims that in spite of this, the
Royal Air Force has been gathering sensitive intelligence on ground activities
in Gaza through nearly daily missions since the conflict began.
The IDF refused to comment on the report, and the British Ministry of Defense said:
"Since December 2023, unarmed IAF reconnaissance aircraft have been flying over Gaza with the sole purpose of locating abductees. The information transmitted to Israel is limited to this subject only. We do not provide operational details for security reasons."
How credible are the reports on UK military involvement in Gaza operations?
Reports on UK military involvement in Gaza
operations, especially related to intelligence sharing and surveillance
flights, are considered credible and well-documented by multiple sources.
The UK Ministry of Defence has publicly
acknowledged that the Royal Air Force (RAF) has conducted hundreds of
surveillance flights over Gaza using aircraft like the Shadow R1 based in
Cyprus, aiming to gather intelligence on hostages held by Hamas. The
intelligence gathered is shared with Israel to assist in hostage recovery efforts.
These reports assert that UK support extends
beyond intelligence sharing to direct military cooperation and raise serious
ethical and legal concerns about the UK’s role in the conflict.