What ministers have told Parliament about RAF flights, Israeli planes and Gaza

The MoD has confirmed that the RAF flew 32 flights from Akrotiri to Israel after 7 October 2023, and the government has admitted that Israeli Air Force planes used British territory. Ministers have not said what the Gaza surveillance flights gathered. The table lists what has been said in Parliament, in date order.

#The parliamentary record, in date order

#What did ministers say about flights to Israel?

The confirmation of 32 flights came in a written answer by James Heappey on 5 December 2023. In February 2024, in written question 12729, the government admitted that nine Israeli Air Force planes had landed in and taken off from British territory since 7 October 2023.

Declassified UK reports that a Shadow R1 surveillance plane also landed in Israel on 13 February 2024. The Voyager tracking data shows no Voyager flights to Israeli airports. The Israeli planes at Brize Norton are covered in their own article.

The MoD says it will "neither confirm, deny, nor comment on any foreign nations' military aircraft movement". The government has refused to give a total number of Israeli Air Force planes that have passed through Britain since February 2024.

A 1998 written answer says the MoD normally charges foreign government aircraft fees at its airfields, including Brize Norton, unless a reciprocal arrangement exists. On that basis, fee records for the Israeli visits would be expected to exist. The sources reviewed do not include any such records. The wider context is in the Akrotiri and Gaza chain of support, and the refuelling claim is in its own article. The RAF Akrotiri base page gives an overview of the base.

#What do ministers say the surveillance flights are for?

The MoD's public line is that the RAF's surveillance flights over Gaza are "solely to locate hostages". A minister told Parliament on 19 June 2025 that the flights are only to find hostages.

Independent flight-tracking analysis of the three Shadow R1 callsigns found 590 Gaza flights in total, the last on 25 July 2025. The government has refused to say what intelligence was gathered or who it was shared with. The Shadow R1 flights article sets out the counts.

#What did ministers say about the protest and the ban?

In her statement to Parliament, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The disgraceful attack on Brize Norton in the early hours of the morning on Friday 20 June is the latest in a long history of unacceptable criminal damage committed by Palestine Action." She also said: "Given significant public concern over recent activities by this group, including the incident in Brize Norton last week, and balancing the relevant considerations, I have decided to confirm this decision to proscribe to the House in advance of laying the relevant order."

The Guardian has reported that Cooper has been accused of repeatedly prejudicing legal cases related to Palestine Action in public forums. The ban on Palestine Action is the subject of its own article.