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Gaza: Military Aircraft

Asked by Brendan O'HaraScottish National PartyMinistry of DefenceTabled Answered 24 March 2025UIN 39455

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the RAF has deployed Shadow R1 surveillance flights to Gaza since 15 January 2025.

Answered by Luke Pollard

Since the terrorist attacks against Israel on 7 October 2023, the UK Government has been working with partners across the region to secure the release of hostages, including British nationals.

In support of this, the Royal Air Force has been conducting unarmed surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean, including in airspace over Israel and Gaza. For the avoidance of doubt, our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of hostages only.

I cannot comment further on detailed intelligence matters for reasons of operational security.

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