British spy planes are helping Israel find hostages in Gaza
Intelligence gathered by RAF planes flying over Gaza is 'routinely' shared with the Israelis, who use the information to track captured hostages, the Ministry of Defence told The Telegraph.
Hundreds of missions have been flown by Shadow R1 surveillance aircraft over Gaza since the war broke out in October 2023, including last month.
It comes as Benjamin Netanyahu considers plans to fully occupy the Palestinian territory.
'The die has been cast. We're going for the full conquest of the Gaza Strip – and defeating Hamas,' a senior Israeli official was quoted by the Hebrew media as saying.
Around 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are thought to still be alive. The families of the hostages fear plans to take over the Strip could endanger their loved ones.
Israel's allies are also thought to be opposed to Mr Netanyahu's plans, and pressure is growing on the Jewish state to wind down its military campaign and alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The continuation of British military support above Gaza comes as Israel-UK relations plummet to an all-time low.
The Government has sanctioned a number of hard-Right Israeli ministers and threatened to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN in September unless conditions in the enclave improve.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, said he was 'sickened' by reports of Israeli troops firing at Palestinians at aid distribution centres.
Britain has supported Israel's military operations in Gaza by flying above the enclave to help find hostages since October 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis in a terror attack.
RAF aircraft have flown nearly daily missions, gathering intelligence the MoD says is used solely to locate hostages.
The RAF's Shadow R1 plane is equipped with electronic sensors that are able to gather data on the ground in Gaza.
It is used to identify vehicle convoys, residential buildings and zoom in on individual movement in the Gaza Strip.
An RAF source told The Times that the Shadow R1 aircraft had returned to Britain. It is unclear which planes have taken over intelligence gathering.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: 'Since early December 2023, the RAF has routinely conducted unarmed surveillance flights over Gaza for the sole purpose of locating hostages.
'The UK controls what information is passed to Israeli authorities and only information relating to hostage rescue will be passed to the relevant authority.
'We do not comment on operational detail for security reasons.'
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