David Cameron says the UK is “very concerned” in regards to the scenario within the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah after Israel launched an invasion.
The Foreign Secretary has referred to as for Israel to “stop and think seriously” earlier than taking additional motion. He mentioned “it’s impossible to see how you can fight a war amongst” the civilians in Gaza, including: “There’s nowhere for them to go.”
“We want Israel to stop and think very seriously before it takes any further action,” mentioned Lord Cameron. “Above all, what we want is an immediate pause in the fighting – we want that pause to lead to a ceasefire, a sustainable ceasefire without a return to further fighting. That is what should happen now.
“We must get these hostages out, together with the British nationals. We must get the help in. The finest method to do this is to cease the combating now and switch that right into a everlasting, sustainable ceasefire.”
Speaking to reporters in East Kilbride, Scotland, Lord Cameron added: “We are very involved about what is occurring in Rafah, as a result of let’s be clear the individuals there, a lot of who’ve moved 4, 5, six occasions earlier than getting there. It actually, we predict, is unattainable to see how one can combat a conflict amongst these individuals, there’s nowhere for them to go. They cannot go south into Egypt, they cannot go north and again to their properties as a result of many have been destroyed.”
Rafah, which is on the border with Egypt, was one of the only regions not yet targeted by Israel’s ground offensive. It was providing refuge to more than half of Gaza’s 2.3million population who have fled fighting elsewhere. The Israeli military targeted the region in a dramatic operation early Monday, rescuing two Israeli hostages and killing at least 67 Palestinians in airstrikes, according to Palestinian hospital officials.
On Sunday, the White House said Joe Biden had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel should not conduct a military operation against Hamas in Rafah without a “credible and executable” plan to protect civilians. According to NBC, the US President has been privately voicing his frustration, including having called Mr Netanyahu an “a**hole” three times recently, according to three sources close to him.
The Palestinian death toll from the war has surpassed 28,000 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. The war began with Hamas’s assault into Israel on October 7, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250.
Keir Starmer final evening warned the anticipated Israeli invasion of Rafah can be “catastrophic” for civilians. The Labour chief tweeted: “There are over 1.4 million displaced Palestinians in Rafah and it’s the gateway to help for Gaza – an Israeli offensive there can be catastrophic. The combating should cease now. We want a sustainable ceasefire.”