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Saturday, 22 May 2021 (YJC) _ British-made military components were used in airstrikes on Gaza.
British-made military components and hardware were used by Israeli forces carrying out airstrikes on Gaza, according to research seen by The Independent.
Bombing raids on the Palestinian territory began on 10 May and only halted on Friday after killing over 232 people, including 65 children.
But despite supposedly strict UK arms export rules, UK-produced equipment appears to have helped fuel the conflict.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military confirmed last week that cutting-edge F-35 warplanes are among military aircraft being used in the bombardment.
The jet's manufacturer Lockheed Martin says that “the fingerprints of British ingenuity can be found on dozens of the aircraft's key components" while the UK Defence Journal estimates them to be 15 per cent British-made.
Israeli forces are also known to be using F-16 fighter jets and Apache helicopters, which the UK government has previously admitted "almost certainly" contain British-supplied components.
In both of those cases British-made components were exported to the United States where Israel was the ultimate end-user, according to a 2009 statement by then foreign secretary David Miliband, issued during a previous military operation.
The UK-made components in the F-16s include advanced targeting equipment such as head-up displays, head-down displays and enhanced display units.
Meanwhile the Apache helicopter gunships use British-made radar systems, navigation equipment, engine assemblies, and fire control systems.
The Independent put the evidence to the British government – which regulates the export of arms and sensitive military hardware – but was only told that "the UK takes its arms export responsibilities extremely seriously".
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