Evidence of potential war crimes collected by British spy planes operating over Gaza could be handed to the International Criminal Court, the UK has confirmed.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is reported to have flown hundreds of missions over and near the war-torn territory since December, gathering intelligence to help in the hunt for hostages kidnapped from Israel by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) said the Shadow R1 surveillance aircraft – which also fly over Israel as well as international air space – are purely tasked with gathering information to assist Israel’s operation to find its hostages.
The spy planes are not involved in gathering intelligence for any other aspect of the war against Hamas, which has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Palestinians, including women and children.
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However, a spokesperson said that the UK would consider a request from international investigators to hand over any evidence the RAF spy planes have collected that might reveal evidence of war crimes.
The spokesperson said: “In line with our international obligations, we would consider any formal request from the International Criminal Court to provide information relating to investigations into war crimes.”
It is understood that no such request has yet been made.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in May said he is seeking arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, and Yoav Gallant, the defence minister, for alleged war crimes.
He was also seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh – who have since been killed in Israeli strikes – as well as Mohammed Deif.
Israel claims to have killed him as well but that has not been confirmed by Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant. Pic: Reuters
The Israeli leaders and the Hamas militants are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant are also accused of “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare” and “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population” from 8 October last year – a day after the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel that triggered the war, which killed around 1,200 people.
The MOD said the UK armed forces are “not a participant in the conflict”.
RAF aircraft are also not involved in flying weapons to Israel to support the war effort.
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“Our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release of the hostages only, including British nationals, with the RAF routinely conducting unarmed flights since December 2023 for this sole purpose,” the MOD spokesperson said.
“As a matter of principle, we only provide intelligence to our allies where we are satisfied that it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, and in this instance only information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the Israeli authorities.”
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The UK Defence Journal website reported in June that data compiled by a Canadian research consultant who tracks planes and ships revealed that the Royal Air Force has conducted more than 250 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) sorties near Gaza since 3 December 2023.
Al Jazeera reported this week that the RAF had conducted more than 600 flights.