UK ends surveillance flights above Gaza following ceasefire deal

ISTANBUL

The UK has ended surveillance flights above the Gaza Strip following the signing of a ceasefire agreement, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced Thursday.

It said British Shadow R1 reconnaissance aircraft based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus had conducted more than 500 missions above Gaza since December 2023.

The operations, the MoD said, were “tasked solely to locate hostages” taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

The final flight was Oct. 10, three days before the peace deal was formally signed, marking the end of the UK’s aerial intelligence operations in the region.

Defense Secretary John Healey said he was “proud” of the UK’s role in “supporting the safe return of the hostages,” and that “the safe return of all hostages, along with the immediate restoration of aid, are critical first steps in efforts to securing a lasting peace.”

The flights have drawn criticism from pro-Palestinian activists, who argued that intelligence collected by British aircraft could have been used by Israel in military operations that have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians, The National publication reported.

Scottish Greens Member of Scottish Parliament Patrick Harvie said the flights showed the UK’s “active participation in, and enabling of, genocide.”

He added that those involved “cannot claim to be unaware of the atrocities that Palestinians have been subjected to.”

The MoD maintained that the aircraft were “always unarmed” and played no combat role, emphasizing that information shared with Israeli authorities was “strictly limited to hostage rescue.”

While surveillance operations have ended, the UK continues to export weapons to Israel. According to a Channel 4 analysis, British arms exports to Israel have reached a “record high” in recent months, with more than 300 export licenses currently in place.

Rights groups have accused London of “turning a blind eye” to Israel’s actions in Gaza, though ministers have rejected the claims.

The phased ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas last week, based on a plan presented by US President Donald Trump. Phase one included the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also envisages the rebuilding of Gaza and the establishment of a new governing mechanism without Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.