Rishi Sunak is “deeply concerned” about a potential Israeli offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
It comes after Israel’s military told Palestinians to leave parts of the city, with the announcement appearing to signal a long-threatened threat. Israeli ground invasion is imminent.
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Speaking on Monday, Sunak said: “I have been very consistent in saying that we are deeply concerned about the prospect of a military incursion into Rafah, given the number of civilians who are sheltering there and the importance of this crossing to get help.
“I have said these questions repeatedly to Prime Minister Netanyahu.
“The priority at this time should be for all parties, but particularly Hamas, to agree to an agreement to release the hostages and allow in more aid as part of a temporary pause, which will allow us to build a sustainable ceasefire .
“That’s the best way to end the suffering. And that’s what I continue to urge all parties to do.”
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said an Israeli offensive “must not proceed”, while shadow foreign secretary David Lammy called for an “immediate ceasefire” and said an Israeli offensive on Rafah “would be catastrophic”. .
Israel says Rafah is Hamas’ last significant stronghold, but it had previously suspended plans to attack the city in southern Gaza so that hostage release negotiations could take place.
However, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that Hamas was not serious about a deal and that the army was preparing “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah.”
On Sunday, Hamas fired rockets from Rafah toward Kerem Shalom, Israel’s main crossing point for aid deliveries, killing three Israeli soldiers.
Overnight, Israeli strikes killed at least 19 people, including a baby, according to Palestinian health officials.
Follow live updates on the Israel-Hamas war
The Israeli army told about 100,000 people to evacuate east of Rafah to an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone on the Mediterranean coast.
Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city on the border with Egypt, is where more than a million people – more than half of Gaza’s population – took refuge during the war that began last October.
Joining other Western nations and humanitarian organizations in calling on Israel not to attack Rafah, Sir Keir said on social media: “With over a million Palestinian civilians sheltering in Rafah, an Israeli offensive must not proceed.
“There must be an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and unimpeded aid to Gaza that can be delivered regularly, quickly and safely.”
Read more: Why did Israel’s offensive provoke widespread international condemnation?
People were fleeing from Rafah
Lammy wrote: “An Israeli offensive on Rafah would be catastrophic.
“We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of the hostages and immediate and unimpeded aid to Gaza.”
UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron previously said the UK is “very concerned” about the situation in Rafah and called on Israel to “stop and think seriously” before taking further action.
Charity ActionAid said forcing Palestinians to leave Rafah “without a safe destination is not only illegal but would lead to catastrophic consequences”.
They said there are “no safe zones in Gaza” and that aid workers have seen some of the “most serious conditions in recent memory,” with widespread disease, famine and chaos.
People in eastern Rafah were told to move to al Mawasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian area near the coast.
Madeleine McGovern, of Care International UK, said ministers need to urgently suspend arms sales licenses to Israel to prevent an expansion of military operations in Rafah.
“It would be unfair for British-made weapons to be used in an attack on Rafah,” she said.
Islamic Relief has warned that the area where Palestinians have been forced to move, al Mawasi, is not safe and that forcing more people there will worsen the humanitarian crisis.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
