UK MEDIA ARE COVERING UP BRITISH SPY FLIGHTS FOR ISRAEL

Published in collaboration with The National

Britain’s mainstream media have not carried out a single investigation into the extent, impact or legal status of the more than 500 surveillance flights over Gaza that the RAF has carried out since December 2023.

The Ministry of Defence continues to insist that the operations, carried out by Shadow R1 aircraft based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, are designed purely to assist with the discovery of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023.

It appears that Britain’s obedient defence correspondents have no appetite to challenge this or even to raise the slightest concern about the legal or ethical implications of providing intelligence support to Israel in the middle of a genocide.

Yet thanks to dogged work by campaigners, independent journalists and pro-Palestine MPs, we know both that the flights are continuing to operate (as they did even throughout the ceasefire) and that spikes in the number of flights have coincided with especially deadly Israeli attacks on Gaza.

The lack of curiosity on the part of mainstream media is perhaps not surprising but it is deeply troubling.

What spy flights?

Action on Armed Violence, who have investigated the flights, point to the opacity of the intelligence and criticise the government for its repeated refusal to talk about how it has been used and who it has been shared with: “Once shared with Israel or the United States, Britain loses control of how the data is used.”

​​Israel’s incendiary attack on Iran on 13 June has led to a flurry of stories mentioning RAF Akrotiri as a potential target for Iranian retaliation given its status as the UK base for what the BBC admitted is a “rapid deployment force available for contingencies in the Middle East”. 

The defacing of two military planes at RAF Brize Norton by members of Palestine Action – that has subsequently led to the unprecedented decision by the Home Secretary to proscribe the group – led to many mainstream news outlets briefly citing the activists’ claim that the RAF was involved in what most stories referred to as “military operations in the Middle East”. 

Unusually, the BBC’s account did at least mention the activists’ claim that Britain was continuing to “fly spy planes over Gaza”.  

However, neither these stories nor indeed any of the ones since the flights started operating in December 2023 have actually investigated these claims. 

Of the  1,359 pieces in UK-based media between 2/12/23 and 24/6/25 referencing “Akrotiri”, none in the mainstream media have focused specifically on the spy flights.

RAF's Shadow R1 plane is designed for high-definition electro-optical surveillance, a good choice to spy on Palestinian resistance movements.

This is in direct contravention of a significant public interest in covering the flights as an ongoing controversy. Even Google’s AI overview acknowledges this. Based on search results for “surveillance flights, Gaza AND Cyprus”, Google’s conclusion is that “it appears there has been considerable discussion and concern surrounding British surveillance flights operating out of RAF Akrotiri, a military base in Cyprus, and flying over Gaza”.

Despite the fact that independent sources like The National, Declassified UK and Middle East Eye have repeatedly drawn attention to the flights and the implications of supplying intelligence to Israeli forces, mainstream news media have refused to amplify this “discussion and concern”.

The vast majority of stories that reference Akrotiri are instead in relation to its role as a base for attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen in January 2024 (“Brits hits Houthis” was the headline in the Sun), the repatriation of UK citizens from Lebanon in summer 2024 and the surveillance of the base by an alleged Iranian spy in June 2025. 

Hard news

This lack of coverage is certainly not because the flights exist only in the imaginations of Declassified UK journalists or pro-Palestine activists. When pressed, the Ministry of Defence admits they are taking place.

For example, on 2 December 2023, the BBC acknowledged the launch of surveillance flights to Gaza in order to “search for Hamas hostage locations”, still the official MoD narrative. The following October, the BBC reported that the UK was willing to hand over “Gaza intelligence” to the International Criminal Court, if requested, as part of the ICC’s investigation into alleged war crimes carried out by Israel.

Other than that, however, the BBC has remained silent on the nature of this “intelligence” and whether the flights may make the UK complicit with war crimes if found to be the case by the ICC.  It has utterly failed to follow up the story. Search the BBC’s “Ministry of Defence” thread and you will find it bare.

When challenged about this by Declassified, the BBC’s director of news content Richard Burgess said: “I don’t think we should overplay the UK’s contribution to what’s happening in Israel”.

The Guardian has published three comment pieces – by Jeremy Corbyn, Paul Rogers and Owen Jones and a joint signatory letter – all of which have made brief reference to the spy flights.

In hard news, however, the Guardian has barely acknowledged the existence of the flights, confined to one line in a Patrick Wintourstory on Foreign Office staff being told to resign after challenging UK policy on Gaza, as well as a mention of “500 surveillance flights” in response to the activities of Palestine Action.

The i paper ran a single story in October 2024 stating that “British military aircraft have reportedly flown hundreds of reconnaissance missions over Gaza in the past year to gather intelligence for Israel” (my emphasis) but, like so many other outlets, have not returned in any meaningful way to the topic since.

Deafening silence

Despite official acknowledgement that the flights continue to take place and despite multiple questions raised in parliament by concerned MPs like Jeremy Corbyn, Shockat Adam, Scott Arthur, Brendan O’Hara and Calvin Bailey, the silence on the intelligence-gathering nature of the spy flights has been deafening.

It’s hard to reconcile this silence with the energy with which mainstream media have investigated Russian spy planes flying over Ukraine and other military manoeuvres related to Putin’s invasion.

It is all the more hypocritical considering their claim to be watchdogs scrutinising government actions. Only recently, Katharine Viner, the editor of the Guardian, wrote about her paper’s record in “scrutinising power with complete independence for decades”.

In reality, it’s precisely the opposite. Leading news organisations are amplifying MoD talking points and Foreign Office priorities but then remaining quiet and toeing the line when it comes to identifying potential military support for Israel’s genocide.

This is similar to the total lack of critical voices in their reporting of the Defence Review that was announced earlier in June by Keir Starmer. 

Out of 993 stories on the “defence review” in UK media on 2 June, a tiny handful took the time even to acknowledge the existence of significant public opposition to increases in defence spending, particularly at the expense of cuts to public services.

The vast majority of published criticism of Labour’s defence plans come from the Tories or military voices arguing that “this is too little, too late” or that it isn’t clear where the money will come from. There is, apparently, no space for hard news content that investigates whether increased defence spending is either effective nor necessary.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media’s continuing silence on RAF spy flights over Gaza is a flagrant abdication of their stated responsibility to ask tough questions of military planners.

Far from holding power to account, mainstream media – through their silence and meekness – are allowing the government to get away with murder in Gaza.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) has conducted at least 518 surveillance flights around Gaza since December 2023, an investigation by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) for Declassified UK has found.

The flights, carried out by 14 Squadron’s Shadow R1 aircraft from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, have been shrouded in secrecy, raising concerns about whether British intelligence has played a role in Israeli military operations that have resulted in mass civilian casualties in Gaza.

These revelations come as Israel faces allegations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC), with warrants issued for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. 

The UK government insists that the flights are purely for hostage recovery, but the lack of transparency has done little to allay suspicions that the intelligence gathered may be facilitating Israeli attacks.

Surveillance sorties continued during and after the ceasefire, despite Israel’s renewed bombing of Gaza killing hundreds of children. 

Over 500 missions in 15 months

AOAV’s analysis of flight-tracking data shows that between 3 December 2023 and 27 March 2025, the RAF carried out at least 518 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) flights over or close to Gaza’s airspace.

Both Labour and Conservative governments have enacted the policy, with at least 215 flights taking place during Keir Starmer’s tenure as prime minister and 303 under Rishi Sunak’s administration.

The frequency of flights remained high throughout 2024, with some months seeing as many as 49 sorties. The missions have typically lasted up to six hours, with the longest flight recorded at seven hours and four minutes.

While the Ministry of Defence (MoD) claims these flights are solely for locating Israeli hostages held by Hamas, AOAV found that the RAF conducted 24 flights in the two weeks leading up to and including the day of Israel’s deadly attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp on 8 June 2024, which reportedly killed 274 Palestinians and injured over 700. 

Four Israeli hostages were rescued in the operation; it remains unclear whether British intelligence directly contributed to the attack or was solely used to locate hostages.

In another case, an RAF Shadow R1 most likely landed at Israel’s Nevatim Air Base on 13 February 2024 and remained there for two hours before departing. Nevatim is a key Israeli military base and hosts the country’s F-35 squadron, which has carried out extensive airstrikes in Gaza.

This is not the only instance where UK ISR flights have coincided with major Israeli military assaults. In the two weeks leading up to Israel’s attack on Rafah on 12 February 2024, which killed at least 67 Palestinians, the RAF flew 15 ISR missions over Gaza. Flights continued even during the so-called ‘limited ceasefire’ in early 2025, with six flights recorded in February alone.

With no parliamentary oversight or public scrutiny, it remains unclear how much British intelligence gathered from these flights has been shared with Israel.

Parliamentary stonewalling

Parliamentary efforts to probe the true purpose of these flights have been repeatedly stonewalled by the UK government. In April 2024, then-Alba MP Kenny MacAskill asked the MoD whether RAF surveillance flights had recorded evidence of mass graves at Gaza’s hospitals. The response was a boilerplate answer, insisting that ISR flights were “solely to locate hostages”.

Similarly, in October 2024, Independent MP Imran Hussain asked the government for details on the cost and codename of the RAF’s Gaza operations. The response was a refusal to disclose information, citing ‘operational security’.

This lack of transparency raises serious questions about whether the UK is complicit in violations of international law. If intelligence gathered by the RAF was used to facilitate war crimes, the UK could itself be liable under the Rome Statute of the ICC.

The ICJ’s genocide case against Israel, brought by South Africa, highlights mass civilian deaths, deliberate destruction of infrastructure, and obstruction of humanitarian aid as key components of the allegations.

The UK, as a signatory to the Arms Trade Treaty and the Geneva Conventions, is legally obligated to ensure its military intelligence is not used to facilitate war crimes. However, the UK government has admitted in court that “Israel is not committed to upholding international humanitarian law” – yet surveillance flights continue.

The Shadow R1 and the UK’s ‘crusader squadron’

The flights in question are operated by 14 Squadron, which until July 2024 was controversially nicknamed the ‘Crusader Squadron’. The unit flies the Shadow R1, a heavily modified Beechcraft King Air 350CER, which is equipped with high-definition electro-optical sensors, electronic surveillance capabilities, and satellite communications.

The aircraft, which can track vehicle convoys, monitor buildings, and gather real-time battlefield intelligence, is typically used to provide ground commanders with targeting information. While the UK insists its data is only for hostage rescue, once intelligence is shared with Israel (or the US), the UK loses control over how it is used.

RAF Shadow R1 aircraft have landed at several civilian and military airports across Europe since December 2023, including in Italy, Croatia, France and Germany. 

Calls for a public inquiry

Pressure is growing for a full public inquiry into the UK’s role in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. This month, Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn called for a ‘Chilcot-style’ investigation into the UK’s military collaboration with Israel, warning that “parliament has been kept in the dark”.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have also demanded full transparency regarding UK surveillance flights and their potential role in Israeli operations.

Nuvpreet Kalra from campaign group CODEPINK told Declassifiedthat when a bomb “massacres Palestinians sheltering in tents or a drone shoots dead a journalist, we have to ask where the intelligence to target these attacks come from…Britain must immediately stop the spy flights and shut down their colonial military bases on Cyprus.”

The MoD said that “We are committed to securing the release of the remaining hostages and will continue to support hostage rescue efforts.  MoD surveillance flights supporting this effort are unarmed, do not have a combat role, and are solely focussed on securing the release of the hostages.”

“The UK controls what information is passed on and only information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the relevant Israeli authorities. We will only pass information where we are satisfied that it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.”

If UK intelligence has been used in any Israeli strikes that resulted in civilian deaths, the British government could be found complicit in war crimes.