In response to parliamentary questions, the UK government has outlined the nature of its intelligence-sharing with Israel concerning the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza.
Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn raised two inquiries on 9th October 2024, seeking details on the extent and implications of the UK’s involvement through intelligence gathering, particularly from surveillance flights.
Corbyn’s first question addressed to the Ministry of Defence asked: “To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) intelligence the Government is sharing with Israel on the potential location of remaining UK national hostages in Gaza and (b) other intelligence the Government is sharing with Israel gathered from surveillance flights from RAF Akrotiri.”
This question aimed to clarify the UK’s role in providing information to assist Israeli operations, particularly regarding the safety of UK nationals.
In response, Luke Pollard, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, confirmed that the UK’s involvement focuses strictly on supporting hostage rescue operations. He stated, “The unarmed UK surveillance aircraft are employed solely to support hostage rescue. Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant Israeli authorities responsible for hostage rescue.”
Pollard added that due to operational security, the government could not provide further details on the intelligence shared.
The second question from Corbyn addressed the potential implications of this intelligence-sharing on international law. He asked: “To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of Israel’s use of surveillance data provided by the UK on the UK’s role in ensuring adherence to international law.”
This inquiry touched on concerns regarding the broader consequences of sharing such sensitive information.
Pollard’s response mirrored the stance given in the first answer, making clear that the UK’s surveillance activities are strictly limited to supporting the rescue of hostages. He reiterated, “Only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant Israeli authorities responsible for hostage rescue,” and maintained that no further details could be shared due to the sensitive nature of the operations.
It’s a toxic issue unfortunately. Even if the U.K. does nothing people some people still have the opinion that the U.K. should do more to help either side, the U.K. is to blame for the mess in the region due to history etc etc.
I would have thought Israel has its own assets for listening in on Gaza. Perhaps these aircraft being added layer to the puzzle.
From what I can see Israel needs absolutely no help from anyone in defending itself. It has arranged its defences such that it is reliant upon nobody. Deep down the Israelis trust nobody mainly because, from their perspective, when Jews were scattered around the world too many countries permitted (or indeed encouraged) pogroms to kill them off. They now have their own country and they will defend it with their dying breath after they used every weapon at their disposal.
I suspect the foreign office told both Concservative & Labour this. Labour weren’t listening. Encouraging Israel to do the right thing is the best you will get.
I had no idea that there were UK national hostages.
Why hasn’t this been made more transparent?
Is there some geopolitical sensitivity involved?
I think there is a duel/half nationality one. Heard it on the radio the other day. The mother, clearly English, was talking of her daughter.
ah that would make sense, thanks for the info DM
Super Jezza making sure the nasty UK doesn’t do any harm to poor little innocent Hamas
There are plenty of civilians in Gaza, and Israel doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to minimising collateral damage.
There were plenty of civilians at that festival and in the kibutz but Hamas and their cronies made no attempt whatsoever in minimising collateral.damage amongst civilians there.
Not advocating any civilian deaths BTW just providing balance.
To see how manipulated by media as you are. why it did not occurred you to instead say this?
In fact and censored by all western media news sausage factory, it was no news the leadership of Hamas telling to a Lebanese TV channel, – video is in Youtube – that women, children and elderly are necessary to die to stimulate the combatant spirit.
It really show what is journalism when the declarations of one leadership side are censored.
Neither you are comparing to any western country combating an enemy in their own soil that wants to destroy it.
Allies bombing ISIL – so it is not UK or USA defending their own soil – admitted more than a 1000 civilians. If we go for supposed ” humanitarian agencies” they claim that number to be 10x more.
I never claimed that Hamas has a better track record, I simply said that there are many civilians and Israel is very trigger happy. At this point Israel are on the offensive so are more likely to cause civilian casualties, and for some reason I doubt Hamas are going to listen to our advice on how to keep hostages alive.
Hamas needs to be eliminated, but you can’t do that by simply flattening all of Gaza. History has shown that you can’t destroy a groups willingness to fight by mass bombardment, and civilian casualties only leads to stronger resistance.
Ordinary Gazan civilians are very useful for Hamas for shielding and propaganda.
Hamas strategy is to build their bases underneath civilian infrastructure for this very reason, if Israel attacks, Hamas can scream that Israel is acting immorally by ” targeting civilians”, every Gazan civilian death reported by the press is a propaganda victory for Hamas.
Nobody wants to see ordinary people suffering but I don’t know what else Israel could do, I don’t believe negotiating or yielding to Hamas demands would result in any long-term peace they are too extreme.
If you have to fight a war in an urban environment and your enemy decides to use the urban environment as a strongpoint you may literally have to level every building in order to defeat them. The alternative of not doing that is irrational since you’re allowing your enemy to scuttle back to a safe place that you refuse to attack.
Buildings are not sacred in war. Monte Cassino in World War 2 is a prime example. Also Caen needed some major redecorating post 1944.
History doesn’t have one story or one morality tale it teaches many different lessons. There are many historical examples of destroying enemies through bombardment. After all it is extremely difficult to shoot back whilst simultaneously being on fire.
Neither does destruction of property equate directly to loss of civilian life. Israel does warn population centres before it attacks and allows civilians to evacuate. There are evacuation routes and safe zones.
If you could prove that Israel has a policy of indiscriminately targeting civilians just like Hamas did then you’d have a point. But I don’t think that is what we’re seeing. What we’re seeing instead is consequences of Israel being forced to conduct a war in an urban environment. Undoubtedly Civilians will die as a consequence of that. Intelligence is not omniscience, Soldiers are not perfect and some people will just be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
However Hamas not Israel bears the blame for this. Israel was forced into this war. If you murder over a thousand Israelis in a pogrom this is exactly what the day after looks like for you. Israel now has to destroy Hamas and if Hamas decides to hide and fight in civilian buildings those building are going to come down.
Hamas, Hezzbollah and Iran do nothing to avoid civilian deaths in their attacks, in fact unlike Israel they deliberately attack civilians because their cause is truly genocidal, for them the 2 state solution is not an option. I can’t believe people in the West are protest marching in support of that ideology.
It’s not about ideology, it’s about basic human rights; every people in the world have the right to self-determination apart from Palestinians. The 2 state solution is a myth because Israel has refused to allow the existence of a Palestinian state. What other nations sovereignty depends on the acceptance of another nation? And so now you have the consequences of a very desperate people who have tried all other options.
Pull the other one,
What basic human rights did Hamas show the people they slaughtered on 7th Oct 2023? , None! they were extremely barbaric and ruthless killing people face to face with AK47s and grenades.
From this evidence we see the raw ideology of Jihad, there is no humanity in Hamas.
What about the human rights of the Jewish people? who are constantly attacked and terrorised by people who want nothing else but to kill them all.
The ideology is clear they want to eradicate all Jews in the middle-east.
Yet you would argue It is done out of desperation I say BS. Peace has always been possible yet Hamas, Hezzbollah (and Iran) always chose the path of war.
It is the Arabic/Muslim population that rejected the 2 state proposal and they have done it so many times now that Israel has given up on it
Why would they treat a people any different to how they have been treated? You take Hamas’ actions in isolation. Take Hamas’ now dead leader, Yahya Sinwar he was born in a Palestinian refufugee camp follow the ethnic cleansing of his family; he was born hating Israel because of the actions of Israel.
The Palestinian people had Israel forced on them, of course they initially rejected as would almost any other people in the world. Don’t tell me you would have done any different. Since, then they have been forced to fight for their right to exist and Israel have refused to allow them a peaceful existence unless they surrender to a sovereignty under Israel. Read the actual terms of the Camp David Summit, before you say Palestine rejected a 2 state solution.
The Palestinian people realised that and hence why they have turned to Hamas and Iran; they’re desperate, they already tried to negotiate and Israel refused to negotiate in fair terms, so now they fight in the most extreme ways possible.
Agreed they are a very dangerous and sinister grouping.
You are totally incorrect as it is admitted by the UK miltary and the US that the ratio of civilian to IDF combatants of less than 2:1 ration is by far the best of any miltary and that iacknowledges the typical of their own forces at a 9:1 ratioThese figures relate to the extremely difficult urban warfare.
Suggest that you get a reality check and don’t swallow the bias of the Corbyn agenda
That style of justification is useless, based on that Hamas did a commendable job as they also achieved a 2:1 ratio …
Better than Hamas.
Yes there are and they are the people who voted Hamas in by what in the UK would be an incredible 57% of the vote.
I think the Israelis are fighting like saints given the situation the people of Gaza chose to create.
You must be new, they’ve been fighting for the last century.
We might only be doing this for intell on the hostages. What Israel might end up doing with that data is up to them. We have no say or right to interfere there.
Corbyn would prefer the flights stopped so they don’t indirectly result in more deaths.
That, to me, is the thrust of Corbyn’s question.
He should also acknowledge that Hamas has no regard for safety of the Gaza population and knew full well that after what they did on 7th October the Israelis would come down on them like a ton of bricks.
And that the Gaza population were quite happy to have Hamas lead them, and were celebrating seeing trussed and bleeding hostages paraded through their streets.
The scenes were shown on the news.
Now. There are consequences.
Of course, this man will never say all that, given his loyalties.
Thank God for Boris Johnson.
Well im sure Jeremy has a lot of free time these days to come up with questions, Seen as he rarely gets texts from his friends.
What are the odds that the remaining Israeli hostages are actually alive? Especially after some of the top Hamas/Hezbollah commanders have been assassinated? Unfortunately I can see Israel might go even more “ballistic” if that’s the reality and it might be spurring them on right now.