Three were not for military purposes in Israel. One was for commercial use, one for civilian use, and one for re-export to another country. The remaining two licences were for military training purposes, specifically non-lethal ammunition only used in training and not suitable for operational use.

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law.

All export licence applications are assessed for the risk of diversion in line with Criterion 7 of the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria which considers the ‘risk that the items will be diverted to an undesirable end-user or for an undesirable end-use'. This includes consideration, where relevant, of use in illegal settlements. Risk of diversion is complex, representing the single biggest reason export licences are refused, and all licences are kept under careful and continual review.

I refer the Member to the answer I gave on 5 March to question 117033.

The Department does not hold continuous records on the number of export licences extant at any point over historic periods, but publishes data regularly based on decisions taken and has, on an exceptional basis, periodically published further detail on licences for Israel extant as at a point in time.

In August 2025 the Department published informed on the 347 licences involving Israel which were extant on 31 July. This total included 5 licences with an ML3 rating. Any ammunition covered under such licences was assessed as not having utility in military operations in Gaza, either because the items were to be re-exported to third countries, or because the items covered related to training ammunition or non-military purposes.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection of Customs declarations and the publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK.

Data on ammunition exports does not distinguish between live ammunition and other forms such as those for training or sporting activities.

Licence applications for the export of controlled goods, including bombs and ammunition, are considered by the Export Control Joint Unit. Relevant teams, including technical experts and officials within DBT, FCDO and MOD, consider every application on a case-by-case basis.

On the basis of such assessments this Government has been clear that the UK does not licence the export of any bombs or ammunition for use in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank.

Information on export licensing is publicly available at: Strategic export controls: quarterly licensing statistics - GOV.UK. The Government has previously published exceptional information relating to Israel available at: Export control licensing management information for Israel - GOV.UK.

DBT does not hold detailed shipment-level customs export data. For goods export data, you should refer to HMRC, who publish UK trade in goods statistics by partner country and product which can be found on www.uktradeinfo.com.

Since September 2024, this Government has suspended licences for exports for the IDF that might be used in military operations in Gaza and refused new licence applications on the same basis. We categorically do not licence the export of any bombs or ammunition for use in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank.

DBT publishes extensive data on export licences on a quarterly basis which includes summaries of the items licensed, with classifications which typically differentiate between types of ammunition. The Department has also published specific information on licences for export to Israel: Export control licensing management information for Israel - GOV.UK.