Eurasia Press & News
Labour continues the Conservatives’ policy of spying on Gaza despite stopping some arms exports to Israel over war crimes concerns.
Britain’s Labour government has ordered 100 spy flights over Gaza to aid Israeli intelligence, it can be revealed.
This amounts to an average of more than one a day since Keir Starmer became prime minister on July 5.
Starmer’s administration suspended 30 arms export licences for Israel last month, citing “a clear risk” the weapons might be used in a “serious violation” of international law.
But the spy flights, which began in December under the previous Conservative government, have continued apace.
Although the Ministry of Defence (MoD) refused to give details, Declassified independently found the flights departing from Akrotiri – Britain’s sprawling air base on Cyprus – to fly over Gaza on Starmer’s watch.
During Labour’s first full month in office, in August, the Royal Air Force (RAF) flew 42 flights over the devastated Palestinian territory.
The new information is likely to raise further concerns about British complicity in war crimes in Gaza, with pro-Palestine activists protesting outside Akrotiri on Sunday.
International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan has requested arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant.
The World Court is also investigating Israel for what it has called a “plausible” genocide in Gaza.
On Monday evening, as Israel invaded Lebanon, Starmer sent a huge A400M military transport plane from Akrotiri to Tel Aviv. The vehicle can carry 116 fully-equipped soldiers and a 81,600lb payload.
Then on Tuesday evening, the UK dispatched Typhoon fighter jets from Cyprus to defend Israel against missiles from Iran.
Surveillance
The UK flights are likely to have gathered up to 500 hours of footage of Gaza although it remains unclear where the British intelligence is going and what it comprises.
The plane used for the missions is the Shadow R1, which is known as an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft.
It is operated by the UK military’s No.14 Squadron, which is based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, eastern England.
Earlier this month, Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin, a former British army officer who served in Afghanistan, asked the military whether “UK intelligence is passed to Israel for the purposes of military targeting”.
Labour’s armed forces minister Luke Pollard responded by saying the surveillance flights were “solely tasked to support hostage rescue”.
Britain’s intelligence support to Israel is not limited to the aerial missions. An Israeli official disclosed to the New York Times that a secret British spy team was deployed to Israel early on in its attack on Gaza.
The UK team gives “added value” to its intelligence operations, he said, adding that Britain is providing intelligence that “Israel cannot collect on its own”. There is no evidence the new Labour government has brought this spy team home from Israel.
The flights
The surveillance flights continued straight after Labour took office, with 11 flights over its first week in power.
One or two planes have gone most days since, but with some significant gaps. For a week, from September 10 to 17, there were no spy flights, soon after Labour suspended some arms exports to Israel. But they soon resumed.
In the past week more than one a day have gone from Cyprus to fly over Gaza for around five hours.
This July, after Labour took power, saw 23 British flights, then in August 42 were sent, while September saw 33 planes over Gaza. This Tuesday, 1 October, a further two flights went.
A MoD spokesperson told Declassified: “The UK is not a participant in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals, with the RAF routinely conducting unarmed flights since December 2023 for this sole purpose.”
They added: “As a matter of principle, we only provide intelligence to our allies where we are satisfied that it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, and in this instance only information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the Israeli authorities.”
‘International obligations’
The MoD announced in December that it would begin surveillance flights over Gaza “in support of the ongoing hostage rescue activity”.
In a debate shortly after this announcement, Conservative defence secretary Grant Shapps was asked by five different MPs whether he would share footage from the flights with the ICC, if it showed evidence of war crimes. Each time he gave an evasive answer.
But this week the MoD told Declassified: “In line with our international obligations, we would consider any formal request from the International Criminal Court to provide information relating to investigations into war crimes.”
An ICC spokesperson told Declassified: “In line with its investigative mandate, the Office is working with all relevant actors including national authorities, to collect information relevant to this investigation.”
The court would not be drawn on whether it had asked the British government for access to UK footage as part of its probe into war crimes in Gaza.
“Confidentiality is a crucial part of our work and is essential to protect the integrity of the investigations and to ensure the safety and security of victims, witnesses, and all those with whom the Office interacts,” the spokesperson added.
Hostage rescue?
RAF surveillance flights support Benjamin Netanyahu’s military campaign to free Israelis held captive in Gaza, an approach which has been widely criticised.
On Monday relatives of hostages with British links told a press conference in London that Netanyahu should negotiate their release.
Stephen Brisley, whose brother-in-law is held in Gaza, said: “The only way the hostages are going to get out alive is with a deal.”
Breaking the Silence, a group of Israeli military veterans, believes that negotiations stand more chance of freeing captives than military action.
It said: “Up until now 117 have returned home alive. 4 were released by Hamas. 105 were released in the only deal struck up until now, which included temporary ceasefires. How many were released due to military operations during the past 11 months? Only 8. These numbers don’t lie.”
At least 15 hostages are estimated to have been killed directly or indirectly from Israeli military action, including British national Nadav Popplewell.
