Sebastián

The UK has announced an end to its surveillance flights over Gaza, after sending more than 600 RAF spy flights over the Strip between December 2023 and 10 October 2025. The flights were carried out from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus by 14 Squadron’s Shadow R1 aircraft while Israel was carrying out what a UN committee ruled in September to be a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Since October 2023, at least 67,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel, with Save the Children estimating that one Palestinian child was killed every hour by Israel. According to the Ministry of Defence, the surveillance aircraft were “always unarmed, did not have a combat role and were tasked solely to locate hostages”. The government claims it “strictly controlled” the information passed on from these flights, only giving “information relating to hostage rescue” to Israeli authorities. However, the secrecy and lack of parliamentary oversight around these flights has raised questions around the UK’s complicity in and active assistance of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. In March, an investigation by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) for Declassified UK found the RAF conducted 24 flights in the two weeks leading up to and including the day of Israel’s deadly attack on the al-Nuseirat refugee camp on 8 June 2024. The attack reportedly killed 274 Palestinians and injured over 700, while four Israeli hostages were rescued in an act of ‘collateral genocide’. It is unclear whether British intelligence directly contributed to the attack or was solely used to locate hostages. Four Israeli hostages were rescued in an act of ‘collateral genocide’. It is unclear whether British intelligence directly contributed to the attack or was solely used to locate hostages. In a statement on 16 October, defence secretary John Healey said: “I am proud of the UK’s efforts to support the safe return of the hostages, and the professionalism of our service personnel involved.” Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told Novara Media: “We welcome the end of this aspect of the UK’s military collaboration with Israel, but it cannot excuse what has already taken place. “While Israel has been committing a genocide in Gaza, the UK has had surveillance planes in the skies above, and has shared this data with the Israeli military. The flights will have direct evidence of the nature, scale and effects of the bombardment. This evidence must be handed over to the International Court of Justice as it investigates Israel’s commission of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.”