UK sent missiles, bombs and other munitions to Israel despite arms ban over Gaza war

The United Kingdom has sent thousands of military equipment to Israel despite suspending key arms export licences, newly obtained data has revealed.

A joint report by the Palestinian Youth Movement, Progressive International, and Workers for a Free Palestine found that since September 2024 - when the UK suspended 29 arms licences to Israel - it has nonetheless exported 8,630 items, including "bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war, and parts thereof - other".

The report, based on Israeli import data from the country's tax authority, sheds light on what the remaining 200 active UK licences have permitted, covering the seven-month period up to March 2025.

Among the exports were 145 items categorised as "tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, motorised, whether or not fitted with weapons, and parts of such vehicles". These were delivered in four shipments, most valued slightly above £500,000.

The study also raises concerns about whether the UK breached international agreements by supplying F-35 fighter jet parts directly to Israel, bypassing the official US manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. This, it warns, could undermine the integrity of the global F-35 supply chain, which the UK government considers vital to national security and NATO obligations.

Despite the licence suspensions, the report found no change in the monthly pattern of UK shipments of F-35 components to Israel since September. However, it remains unclear whether those parts were exclusively military in nature.

Since October 2023, the UK has reportedly conducted 14 military shipments to Israel, including 13 by air to Ben Gurion airport and one maritime delivery to Haifa carrying 160,000 items.

The UK government suspended 29 arms export licenses in September 2024 due to concerns that exported equipment could be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law in Israel's war on Gaza. Exemptions were made for F-35 components to preserve global supply chains.

Amid Israel's ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip, there have been growing calls for a total UK arms embargo on Israel, with critics pointing to evidence that British-made weapons may be used in attacks on the besieged enclave.

Following the International Criminal Court's issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, legal advocacy groups GLAN and Al-Haq have launched a judicial review of the UK’s continued arms exports to Israel.