Britain insists Gaza flights solely for hostage rescue

Defence Secretary John Healey has confirmed that the hundreds of Royal Air Force surveillance flights over Gaza are operating solely to support hostage rescue, with intelligence shared only for that purpose.

In a letter to Defence Committee chair Tan Singh Dhesi, Healey wrote that “the MOD’s mandate is narrowly defined to cover securing the release of hostages only” and stressed that “only information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the relevant Israeli authority.”

He added that the Ministry of Defence has “robust policies, practices and processes which are entirely consistent with our legal obligations.”

Healey said he and senior MOD officials have held “regular ministerial discussions with Israeli counterparts on the remaining hostages and other matters, including complying with International Humanitarian Law and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.” However, he warned that further operational detail could not be disclosed, stating: “We hope you will understand that we cannot share further comment on intelligence information on the techniques, tactics, and procedures used by MOD in support of hostage rescue operations as this risks undermining HMG’s ability to respond to current and future hostage situations.”

The confirmation comes after earlier tracking by Canadian research consultant Steffan Watkins revealed that RAF aircraft had flown over 250 identifiable Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) sorties toward Gaza in the first six months of the operation. These missions, flown by Shadow R.1 ISTAR aircraft, began after test flights from RAF Akrotiri in late October 2023 and have taken place almost daily since 3 December 2023, often with one or two overlapping flights per day. Aircraft rotations from the UK are regular, with Saturdays usually left without missions.

Watkins previously told the UK Defence Journal that given the scale and persistence of the flights, it was reasonable to ask whether RAF crews had incidentally collected intelligence relevant to potential war crimes in Gaza, and what processes exist for handling such data. Healey’s letter does not address that point directly, but reiterates that intelligence from the missions is restricted to hostage recovery purposes.

He also restated the government’s position that “International Humanitarian Law must be upheld, and civilians protected,” and that the UK continues to raise these concerns with Israel “at the highest levels.”