Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military support his Department is providing to Israel.

UK military support being provided to Israel is for the specific purpose of hostage rescue and recovery. Previously the UK also acted to support Israel's right to self-defence during Iran's direct attacks in April and October 2024.

On hostage rescue, the UK Government continues to work with partners across the region, including Israel, to secure the release of hostages.  The Ministry of Defence have been supporting this effort by conducting unarmed surveillance flights over the Eastern Mediterranean, including in airspace over Israel and Gaza.

Support to hostage rescue does not mean the UK is participating in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Surveillance flights are tasked with the sole purpose of hostage rescue and our mandate is narrowly defined to focus on securing the release and recovery of hostages. We control what information is shared with Israel and only information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the relevant Israeli authority.