Britain hides spy footage of Israel targeting aid workers in Gaza

The British Ministry of Defence has video footage from spy planes that flew over Gaza on the day Israel killed 7 international aid workers, but is refusing to release the footage, Declassified UK has revealed.

The site indicated in a report that the footage was filmed by a Royal Air Force surveillance plane, which spent nearly five hours over Gaza that day, and appeared to have returned to its base in Cyprus minutes before the air strikes began.

"The RAF may have collected footage of events leading up to the tragedy, which could provide clarity on Israeli claims that 'Hamas militants' were seen near the convoy," the report said.

Jose Andres, founder of World Central Kitchen, has criticised Israel's investigation into the incident, which saw two senior officers fired for what he called a "serious mistake" . "The investigation should be much deeper," Andres told ABC. "We need more information. We need to see better quality videos."

Britain has now emerged as an unlikely source of such footage, having sent more than 200 spy flights over Gaza ostensibly to help Israel locate prisoners held by Hamas.

The British military confirmed in response to a request from Declassified that “video footage of Gaza from the Shadow R1 drone flight on 1 April has been retained.”

The British Ministry of Defence claims that the video is not available for publication for security reasons, indicating that its contents may relate to British special forces or MI6.

Among those killed in the World Central Kitchen convoy on April 1 were three British military veterans, John Chapman, James Kirby and James Henderson.

“This footage should not be hidden from our family,” James Henderson’s father, Neil, told Declassified, adding that “the British government must urgently release any evidence it has” that might “shed light on why Israel mistakenly targeted James.”

A British Ministry of Defence spokesman had earlier said: "While the Prime Minister continued to call for an immediate ceasefire, we made clear that the RAF was conducting unarmed reconnaissance flights over Gaza for the sole purpose of helping to locate the hostages."

Flight tracking data showed the spy plane took off from Britain's Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus at 5 p.m. local time on April 1 and landed at 10:49 p.m.

The Israeli military claimed the aid convoy left the American pier in Gaza at 10 p.m., with “suspected militants” allegedly boarding the vehicles at 10:28 p.m. Three drone strikes were carried out four minutes apart, at 11:09 p.m., 11:11 p.m., and 11:13 p.m.

News of the airstrikes on aid workers began appearing on Palestinian social media channels shortly after, around 10:30 p.m.

The flight time between Akrotiri and the Gaza Strip is about 30 minutes, suggesting that the British surveillance aircraft was returning to its base over the eastern Mediterranean when the attack occurred, or had just landed.

It may have recorded footage of the aid convoy moving along the Gaza coast shortly before the vehicles were systematically targeted by Israeli drones.