According to reports, since December, the Royal Air Force (RAF) has conducted hundreds of flights over and close to the conflict-torn area in order to collect intelligence for the search for hostages that Hamas abducted from Israel on October 7, 2023.
The Shadow R1 surveillance planes, which also fly over Israel and international airspace, are only responsible for obtaining intelligence to support Israel’s hostage-finding mission, according to the Ministry of Defense (MOD).
Tens of thousands of Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed in the fight against Hamas, but the spy planes are not used for any other purpose of obtaining intelligence.
A spokesman did, however, state that the UK will take into account a request from foreign investigators to turn over any material the RAF surveillance planes have gathered that could point to war crimes.
“We would consider any formal request from the International Criminal Court to provide information relating to investigations into war crimes, in accordance with our international obligations,” the official stated.
