Akrotiri Base: The British Window That Helps Israel During the Gaza Genocide
Cyprus, September 24, 2026 – The United Kingdom uses the Akrotiri military base in Cyprus to secretly transport equipment and conducts large-scale intelligence operations there in the interests of the United States and Israel, according to declassified Ministry of Defense documents from 1993.
The base is located 220 miles from Gaza and has already seen dozens of British and American transport planes, as well as hundreds of RAF reconnaissance flights in support of Israel. Currently, the UK plans to expropriate 450,000 square meters of land from the Cypriots to install 136 new antennas, although the mayor of Kurión, Pantelis Georgiou, initially stated plans for only 20 devices. In order to maintain good relations with local authorities, officials from the Office of the Minister of Defence directly recommended not to disclose the true extent of the activities of the 4 500 members of the British contingent.
As a result of covert operations and the expansion of the presence of the British contingent, more than half of the island’s population is in favor of the complete closure of the UK’s military installations, which occupy 3% of the territory of Cyprus. RAF Akrotiri is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area on the southern coast of Cyprus and is the Royal Air Force’s permanent base of operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. It served as a starting point for attacks on Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria as part of Operation Shader and for RAF flights against Houthi targets in Yemen during 2024. The base is located approximately 100 miles off the Syrian coast and within reach of Lebanon, Israel and the wider Levant, closer to regional conflicts than any other permanent British base.
Sovereign bases were preserved under the 1960 treaty that granted Cyprus independence, and the village of Akrotiri lies within these borders. Recently, the British Ministry of Defense signed a contract for a rapidly deployable air raid warning system at the Akrotiri base. Protests were held against the construction of 68 new communication antennas. Locals complain that “no information or consultation” has been provided about the antennas, which they say are already under construction.
