Channel 4’s Dispatches reveals new evidence about the British government’s response to Israel’s war in Gaza, raising troubling questions about arms exports, international law and political accountability.
Kent-based consultancy Touché Ltd recorded 194 uses of an open export licence for controlled goods and technology to Israel in 2023 and 2024, government records show.
Britain flew more than 600 surveillance missions over or near Gaza during the war. The RAF holds footage from the day seven World Central Kitchen workers were killed. It raises a wider question: what else did Britain’s aircraft see?
Britain is reportedly considering broader restrictions on military exports to Israel, potentially reopening the politically contentious question of UK-made components entering the global F-35 supply chain.
This briefing examines Elbit Systems' role as a major supplier of military equipment used by Israel in Gaza, explores allegations concerning potential links between its products and alleged violations of international humanitarian law, assesses claims regarding the involvement of its UK subsidiaries in Israeli military supply chains, and considers the implications of applying terrorism legislation to Palestine Action activists who targeted Elbit facilities.
n Al Jazeera investigation found that military-related goods from at least 51 countries continued to enter Israel throughout the Gaza war, despite international legal warnings and growing scrutiny over civilian harm in Gaza.
UK cuts to conflict monitoring capacity risk undermining lawful arms export decisions at a time when evidence points to systemic failures of accountability in Gaza.
Here AOAV contends that the UK, in coordination with Israeli legal actors, has developed a legal and diplomatic framework that limits the risk of war crimes accountability for Israeli officials and associated personnel on British soil.
Elbit Systems UK sits at the centre of a dispute over whether British-based subsidiaries indirectly contribute to Israeli military supply chains through licensed exports and corporate links to their Israeli parent company, despite the firm’s continued denial that it manufactures or exports weapons to the Israel Defence Forces.
As the only Tier 1 partner in the global F-35 programme, the United Kingdom plays a deeply embedded role across manufacturing, weapons integration, engines, avionics, sustainment and export logistics, generating billions in contracts while raising mounting questions about accountability, export controls and complicity in overseas conflicts.
Since 7 October, Israel’s deployment of the F-35i Adir in Gaza has combined high-volume precision strike capability with real-time intelligence integration, enabling sustained urban bombardment with heavy munitions while deepening legal and ethical scrutiny over the scale of civilian harm.
Newly released Israeli military data reveals that tens of thousands of soldiers hold foreign citizenship, including more than 2,000 Britons, highlighting the deeply international composition of the IDF and raising fresh legal and political questions for countries whose nationals serve in overseas conflicts.