UK’s foreign secretary opposes major offensive in Rafah without plan to protect civiliansThe UK’s foreign secretary, David Cameron, has said it would be wrong for Israel to carry out a major offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah “without a plan to protect people”.
Asked whether it would be wrong to begin an incursion, Cameron told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News:
That’s right, without a plan to protect people. For there to be a major offensive in Rafah, there would have to be an absolutely clear plan about how you save lives, how you move people out the way, how you make sure they’re fed, you make sure that they have medicine and shelter and everything.
We have seen no such plan … so we don’t support an offensive in that way.
The Israel Defense Forces instructed residents to evacuate central Rafah early on Saturday morning, via leaflets and messages on social media. Analysts said this suggested Israeli forces would advance into the centre of Rafah as early as Sunday, and were likely to continue through the entire city.
Israel has said about 300,000 people have already fled the city in the Palestinian territory since the army urged people to leave. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ignored pleas from allies and humanitarian agencies that launching an assault on Rafah would lead to mass civilian casualties and an even worse humanitarian crisis.
Cameron, a former Conservative prime minister, also said he was “always pushing” the Israelis on a hostage deal and achieving a pause in the fighting to seek a sustainable ceasefire, but said the real pressure should be on Hamas.
“Hamas have been offered a deal which would release hundreds of prisoners from Israeli jails, that would provide a pause in the fighting to get desperately needed aid into Gaza and they’re not taking that deal,” Cameron said.
Indirect talks in Cairo on a ceasefire and hostage release deal were unsuccessful last week, with both the Israeli and Hamas delegations reportedly leaving.
Izzat El-Risheq, a member of Hamas’ political office in Qatar, said the Hamas delegation had approved an Egyptian-Qatari proposal that included the release of Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza and a number of Palestinians jailed by Israel.
Hamas has blamed Israel for the lack of agreement, and its Al-Aqsa TV’s Telegram account said the group would not make any concessions beyond those in the proposal it had accepted.
Israel has said it is open to a truce, but has rejected demands for an end to the war.