LONDON: The UK has ended its surveillance flights over Gaza after nearly two years, following the release of hostages held by Hamas as part of the recent ceasefire deal, Defense Secretary John Healey had confirmed.
Healey praised the “professionalism” of British personnel who had conducted the unarmed missions, which began in December 2023 with the stated goal of helping locate hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attacks of that year.
The final flight took place last week, shortly before the ceasefire came into effect, The Times newspaper reported.
“This ceasefire is a moment of profound relief, for the civilian population of Gaza, and for the Israeli hostages and their families, who have all endured unimaginable suffering,” Healey said.
“I am proud of the UK’s efforts to support the safe return of the hostages, and the professionalism of our service personnel involved.”
The UK’s Ministry of Defense said the aircraft were “always unarmed, did not have a combat role, and were tasked solely to locate hostages.”
Intelligence passed to Israel, officials said, was strictly limited to hostage rescue operations.
However, the program proved controversial throughout its duration.
The UK government confirmed earlier this year that operations were carried out either by the Royal Air Force or by US contractors it hired, a revelation that raised concerns within the MoD itself.
A technical error last July exposed one such US aircraft, registered in Nevada, flying above Khan Younis.
The program drew criticism from rights groups and opposition politicians, who questioned whether intelligence gathered by the UK could have been used by Israel in its military operations in Gaza.
The Guardian newspaper reported concerns in August among legal experts and analysts that Britain had “no operational control” over how information passed to Israel might be used once shared.
Helen Maguire, the Liberal Democrats’ defense spokesperson, said at the time that while she supported efforts to find hostages, “the government must outline what steps it has taken to ensure Israel can’t use UK-sourced intelligence for its military operations in Gaza.”
Labour backbencher Kim Johnson also voiced alarm, saying it was “deeply concerning that surveillance flights over Gaza continue relentlessly, even as serious questions remain about their purpose and oversight.”
Former Foreign Secretary David Lammy also told reporters at the time: “It would be quite wrong for the British government to assist in the prosecution of this war in Gaza. We are not doing that, (we) would never do that.”
The MoD repeatedly insisted that strict controls governed the intelligence-sharing process and that no information of “military utility” was passed to Israeli authorities.
