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The United Kingdom has ended its aerial surveillance operations over Gaza following the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed on Thursday.
According to the ministry, Shadow R1 reconnaissance aircraft based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus carried out more than 500 surveillance missions above Gaza since December 2023.
The MoD stressed that the flights were “tasked solely to locate hostages” taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
The final flight took place on October 10, three days before the peace deal was formally signed, marking the end of the UK’s intelligence-gathering role in the conflict.
Defence Secretary John Healey praised the mission, saying he was “proud” of the UK’s contribution to “supporting the safe return of the hostages” and emphasised that “the safe return of all hostages, along with the immediate restoration of aid, are critical first steps in efforts to secure a lasting peace.”
However, the flights have been criticised by pro-Palestinian activists, who argue that intelligence collected by British aircraft may have been shared with Israel and used in strikes that killed civilians.
Patrick Harvie, a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Scottish Greens, accused the UK of “active participation in, and enabling of, genocide,” adding that those involved “cannot claim to be unaware of the atrocities that Palestinians have been subjected to.”
The MoD maintained that the reconnaissance aircraft were “always unarmed” and played “no combat role,” insisting that any intelligence shared with Israel was “strictly limited to hostage rescue.”
Despite halting surveillance flights, the UK continues to export weapons to Israel. A recent Channel 4 investigation found that British arms exports to Israel have reached a record high, with over 300 export licences currently active.
The ceasefire agreement, based on a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump, includes prisoner exchanges, Gaza reconstruction, and the establishment of a new governing mechanism excluding Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 68,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
