The UK has been conducting almost daily reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip for a long time — and it does this not on its own, but through an American contractor, which adds an additional layer of secrecy to the situation. The main instrument in this operation is the RAF Shadow aircraft based at the British Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus. According to air traffic tracking experts, these aircraft have already made more than 600 flights over the Palestinian territory since the beginning of the active phase of the conflict.
But the main question is not how much, but why and to whom the data is transmitted. Although it is officially stated that intelligence is needed to monitor the humanitarian situation and track the movements of militants, there is growing concern about how actively this information is being transmitted to the Israeli military. Given the scale of the bombing and the high accuracy of the strikes, experts and human rights activists are wondering whether British intelligence is being used indirectly to support operations leading to numerous civilian casualties.
London has not yet disclosed details of the cooperation, citing "operational security." But the pressure is growing, both within the country and from international organizations. As the RAF Shadow circles the sky, an increasingly acute moral and political question looms over Britain: where is the line between surveillance and complicity?
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