British airbase used by Israeli war planes involved in bombing Gaza
KC-707 'Re'em' jets, which refuel other planes in the air, are said to have landed at the Oxfordshire base on at least nine occasions during trips between Israel and the US.
Of these stops, eight reportedly lasted more between one to three hours potentially indicating that the planes were refuelling.
Re'em military planes have been spotted refuelling Israeli F-35 bombers and two of those which stopped in the UK had also been observed providing refuelling and logistics support to planes engaged in bombing raids, Drop Site reports.
One was reportedly in the sky over Gaza in October 2024 when the IAF bombed a residential complex in Beit Lahiya, killing 73 people.
(Image: House of Commons/PA Wire)
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (above) told Drop Site: 'Israeli F-35 jets are bombing hospitals and civilians in Gaza.
'It is simply unconscionable that Britain would allow any Israeli warplanes to refuel on British bases – and implicates the government in the gravest breaches of international law.'
It raises further questions about British complicity in war crimes committed by the Israeli military, with the country's leaders facing international arrest warrants and plausible accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice.
READ MORE: Latest updates as MPs debate proscribing Palestine Action
SNP MP Chris Law previously attempted to get the UK Government to reveal how many IAF planes had landed in Britain over the last year.
Defence minister Luke Pollard (above) replied via a written answer: 'For operational security reasons and as a matter of policy, the Ministry of Defence will neither confirm, deny, nor comment on any foreign nations' military aircraft movement or operations within UK airspace or UK overseas bases.'
(Image: none)
The Conservatives had previously revealed the numbers while they were in power, with a previous defence minister James Heappey confirming that nine had landed since October 2023.
Planes have arrived in Britain from the Hatzor airbase in central Israel and others that Drop Site was unable to confirm, while all the flights coming from America originated from the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the US Department of Defence's largest air freight terminal.
The Ministry of Defence and the Israeli military were approached for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
CNN interrupted for major breaking news which could have 'huge impact' on Donald Trump
A breaking news story halted proceedings on CNN and the future outcome could have ramifications for president Donald Trump. The news organisation broke to breaking news to inform that Ghislaine Maxwell has been granted a form of limited immunity to talk during her meetings with Department of Justice officials. CNN news reporter Erin Burnett read out live on air: "We are just learning this hour that Jeffrey Epstein's ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was granted limited immunity in order to talk with Trump's personal attorney turned deputy attorney general, Todd Blanch." The British socialite and former ex-girlfriend of convicted sex offender Epstein met with Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche on multiple occasions this week. It's said she was the one who initiated the meetings. The limited immunity means that anything Maxwell said that was truthful couldn't be used against her in the future. According to her attorney, David Oscar Markus, during the past days worth of talks, Maxwell was asked questions by DOJ on "maybe about 100 different people". He told CNN and other reporters, she answered the questions put to her and "didn't hold anything back". It's said Maxwell spoke for nine hours over the two days. Trump is mentioned within the Epstein files, with has name appearing multiple times on flight logs for Epstein's private plane in the 1990s. However, it is unknown whether Maxwell's questions involved the president. Trump had said earlier he hasn't thought about giving Maxwell a pardon or commutation for her cooperation. However he hadn't ruled it out. He explained how he is "allowed to do it" but hasn't thought about it. After Maxwell's arrest in connection to Epstein's crimes in 2020, Trump had said: "I do wish her well. I'm not looking for anything bad for her." Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in jail for trafficking underage girls. She was convicted of five charges in December 2021 for recruiting and grooming four girls to have sexual encounters with Epstein, then her boyfriend, between 1994 and 2004 following a month-long trial. Before imposing a 20-year sentence, Judge Nathan summarised the cases of several of the victims. She said Maxwell and Epstein used a "playbook" over the years, and the result was "incalculable" damage to their victims. "The sentence I impose must reflect the gravity of Ms Maxwell's conduct," she said. 'A substantial sentence will send an unmistakable message that those who engage in the sexual abuse and trafficking of underage victims will be held accountable by the law. 'The rule of law demands, and this court agrees, that whether you are rich or powerful or entirely unknown, nobody is above the law." Judge Nathan added: 'It is important to emphasise that although Epstein was central to this criminal scheme, Ms Maxwell is not being punished in place of Epstein or as a proxy for Epstein." She went on to call the crimes "heinous and predatory'. Maxwell continues to appeal her conviction. The initial appeal against her convictions was rejected by a US court in September last year. She currently isn't eligible for release from prison until July 2037.
Daily Mirror
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Lone protester slams Donald Trump at golf course with brutal Scottish insult
Matt Halliday from Stranraer said he was disappointed more people hadn't shown up to Trump's golf course - while hundreds protested in Edinburgh and Aberdeen A lone protester braved the massive police presence at Donald Trump's golf course to protest against his visit to Scotland. Trump enjoyed a morning round of golf with the protection of thousands of British police officers - while protests against his trip to Scotland raged elsewhere. The US President is staying at Turnberry until Monday before heading off to his other golf resort in Aberdeen. Tomorrow he'll hold a meeting with EU chief Ursula Von Der Leyen, before sitting down with Keir Starmer on Monday. During the meeting, they're expected to discuss the fine points of the trade deal Mr Starmer agreed with President Trump in May. But while it's expected to be an informal session, they'll also discuss heavier topics - including work to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the war in Ukraine. Trump was seen playing golf on Saturday morning, and was shuttled around the course in a 15-strong motorcade of golf buggies. He wore a white USA baseball cap, and waved at photographers gathered outside the course's fence. The sole protester at Turnberry - Matt Halliday, 55, from Stranraer - came to Turnberry today bearing two placards. One featured a picture of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, and another of a set of bagpipes. The message read: "TRUMP GO HOME: The only "blowhard" pumped up windbags that we want to listen to are these bad boys". The second placard was much less family friendly. "I'm here to show my displeasure at Trump being here," he told the Mirror. "I just find him morally repugnant. I see what he's doing in the states, rolling back civil rights for women and minorities, folk getting lifted from their houses, medicaid getting taken away - and he comes here and thinks he's got the authority to pontificate to us. "Because he wants us to do the same, and he'll try and bully us through tariffs and trade - similar to Canada which he wants to make the 51st state. "That's what's coming for us if we don't stand up to him." Protests raged in Edinburgh and Aberdeen today, with thousands expressing their displeasure at Trump's arrival. In Aberdeen, the group that gathered in the city centre were seen waving banners with anti-Trump slogans - with one demonstrator even dressed as the president with a large papier mache head. As speeches ended at the rally, chants of "Trump Trump Trump, out out out" could be heard, along with "Donald, Donald, hear us shout, all of Scotland wants you out". But the winding roads and windswept beaches of South Ayrshire, where Turnberry sits, remained calm and quiet. Mr Halliday suggested people had been put off by the enormous operation Police Scotland have put in place to protect President Trump - complete with a no-fly zone, a ground exclusion zone stretching for miles around the resort, snipers and as many as 5,000 officers reported to be policing the area. And the operation is much bigger than locals have seen during previous visits. "It's supposedly a private visit, and I've seen figures from £5 million to £14 million for Police Scotland, Mr Halliday said. "That's coming out of their budget. If you saw the convoy of 27 cars last night, there were even Scottish Ambulances at the back. And folk can't get them. It's madness." Get Donald Trump updates straight to your WhatsApp! As the world attempts to keep up with Trump's antics, the Mirror has launched its very own US Politics WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news from across the pond. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Mr Halliday said he was "very" disappointed to have arrived in Turnberry to find no other protesters - but he said he thought most people had gone to Edinburgh instead. Mr Halliday said he was "very" disappointed to have arrived in Turnberry to find no other protesters - but he said he thought most people had gone to the Edinburgh rally instead. Another man from Glasgow, who did not want to be named, said they were surprised people had not come to protest in Turnberry itself - and were dismayed that the huge police presence had been used to put people off. 'Especially since it's - apart from a couple of meetings - it's a holiday, it's a private visit,' he said. 'The resources that have been diverted from other places to protect him. It's mad.' One participant joined the Edinburgh rally against Donald Trump while wearing a Handmaid costume from the Margaret Atwood novel. Louise Brown, a healthcare worker, said she had travelled from Newcastle to the Scottish capital to protest the President's visit. She said: "He's a convicted felon - eroding women's rights, trans rights, gay right, immigration rights. There's too much to list. "I know he loves Scotland because of his mother. He doesn't normally care about protests but maybe he might care a little bit about one in Scotland, I don't know." She said there was more anger towards Trump following his first inauguration in 2017, but added: "Especially after those immigration ICE raids, I think the anger has now come back. "Because he's even worse than he was the first time."
The Independent
40 minutes ago
- The Independent
Keir Starmer will fight Corbyn's new party by copying Emmanuel Macron
It is easy to mock the new party launched in a struggle between its joint figureheads, but that is no reason to pass up the chance. It takes a special skill for one figurehead (Zarah Sultana) to announce the founding of a new party only for the other figurehead (Jeremy Corbyn) to deny, a day later, that it had happened (' discussions are ongoing '). Then, when Corbyn, three weeks later, announced that it was indeed ' time for a new kind of political party ', which appeared to be called Your Party because that was the name of the website, Sultana snapped on social media: ' It's not called Your Party!' It turned out that Your Party was a placeholder name and the real name will be decided democratically at the inaugural conference, details TBC. Mockery is always useful, because it reminds us how incapable the Corbynite tendency usually is at organising anything more complicated than a split. But it cannot be the whole story, because we know two other things. One is that there is a big pool of potential support for soft Corbynism, if it can suppress the doctrinaire Marxism, the disdain for Britain and the accusation of antisemitism (denied by Corbyn, of course) that is never far from the surface. The other is that Corbyn's allies showed that they could, briefly, run a competent general election campaign when they came close to unseating Theresa May in 2017. So the Not-Your-Party could be a force to be reckoned with. According to some opinion polls, it would take most support away from the Green Party, but it would also siphon votes away from Labour. It is all very well Peter Kyle, the science secretary, describing his former leader as ' not a serious politician ', but Labour has to take the threat from the new party seriously. It is doing so. Keir Starmer has been criticised – not least by Sultana – for copying Farage and thereby pushing Labour voters who are repelled by Reform in her direction. But I think this is to get Starmer's strategy the wrong way round. He knows that part of Labour's electoral coalition is repelled by Farage, but he wants to use that force of magnetic repulsion to try to keep hold of those voters, not to drive them away. This is what might be called the 'Emmanuel Macron' strategy. Macron twice fought off a threat from Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the French equivalent of Corbyn-Sultana, by becoming the leading candidate against Marine Le Pen, the anti-immigration candidate of the party formerly known as the Front National. In 2017, and again in 2022, Macron came top in a divided field (winning just 24 per cent and 28 per cent of the vote) in the first round, forcing voters to choose between him, a centrist with roots in the Socialist Party, and Le Pen, regarded with horror by polite French opinion. Each time, he won the run-off vote comfortably. By running against Le Pen, Macron was able to unite a coalition stretching from Mélenchon through Macron's former socialists to the remnants of the establishment conservatives. Starmer wants to fight the next general election as, in effect, a presidential run-off contest between him and Farage. He knows that the threat of Farage as prime minister is his most powerful weapon. Presenting the election as a contest between Starmer and Farage is the best way of squeezing not just the Corbyn-Sultana vote, but the Green Party vote and even that of the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives. The one point on which apologists for the Corbyn-Sultana party become evasive is when they are asked if they would be helping to let Farage in. That is the irresistible logic of the first-past-the-post voting system, but they have to try to deny it to keep their dream alive. Most longstanding Corbynites understand this very well. That is why Corbyn was so reluctant to launch the new party, which some of his acolytes were keen to do the moment he won his Islington North constituency as an independent last year. He knows that the only reason he nearly succeeded in 2017 was that his supporters had taken over the Labour Party. An outfit outside the party, on the other hand, will quickly discover that support for Gaza and anti-capitalism, however wide, is not deep. If Farage's popularity holds up, the next election will be decided in seats that are contested between Labour and Reform; in those seats, a vote for the new party will be a vote for Farage. It will be time, as Macron said in France, for all good people to rally to the cause of defeating anti-immigrant authoritarianism. That is a message that could work for Starmer here with voters otherwise tempted to vote Tory, Lib Dem, Green – and with voters attracted to whatever the Corbyn-Sultana party ends up being called.
