Since May 5, Israel has been conducting a new offensive in Gaza, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying on Monday that his country plans to “take control of the entire Gaza Strip.”
Hundreds have been killed and no aid has entered the strip for 11 weeks until Monday, that five trucks were allowed out of the over 500 trucks that authorities say are required each day to sustain the population, causing a humanitarian catastrophy.
The United Kingdom, France and Canada have threatened to take “concrete actions,” including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not halt its fresh offensive and continues to block aid from entering Gaza.
On Tuesday, however, the Israeli military vowed to “expand” its operations in the enclave.
International pressure is mounting amid this renewed military operation in the Gaza strip, as both the United Kingdom and the European Union announced measures distancing themselves from the country on Tuesday.
The United Kingdom has paused trade negotiations with Israel and sanctioned West Bank settlers, as Britain’s top diplomat slammed the present operation in Gaza as “morally unjustifiable” and “wholly disproportionate.”
Meanwhile, the European Union announced that it would review its relationship with Israel, with the EU’s foreign policy chief calling the situation on the ground in Gaza “catastrophic.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “intolerable” as he stressed on Tuesday, that aid needs to enter the strip “at pace.”
“The current situation in which we are seeing the bombardment, and the prospect of starvation, is just intolerable,” Starmer said, adding that “we are coordinating with our allies on this.”
Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy stressed that the UK backed Israel’s right to defend itself after the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, but said the conflict was “entering a dark new phase.”
“For 11 weeks Israeli forces have blockaded Gaza, leaving the World Food Programme without any – any – remaining stocks,” he said. “We are now entering a dark new phase in this conflict. Netanyahu’s government is planning to drive Gazans from their homes into a corner of the strip to the south and permit them a fraction of the aid that they need.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipura Hotovely, was summoned over the Israeli offensive in Gaza, as well as Israeli settler violence and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the British Foreign Office said in a statement.
