Cameron leads international pressure on Israel over Gaza
International pressure is growing for Israel and Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal after nearly five months of fighting left much of Gaza in ruins, creating a worsening humanitarian catastrophe with many people scrambling for food to survive.
It comes after Foreign Secretary David Cameron said “a whole series of warnings” needs to be given to Israel over aid reaching Gaza with people dying of hunger and disease in the besieged enclave.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have spent weeks trying to broker an agreement in which Hamas would release up to 40 hostages in return for a six-week ceasefire, the release of some Palestinian prisoners and an major influx of aid to the isolated territory.
But the talks have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.
On Tuesday, US president Joe Biden said: “We must get more aid into Gaza. There’s no excuse. None.”
Speaking in Parliament, the former prime minister said he would be “starting” with Benny Gantz, a retired general and a member of Israel’s war cabinet, who he was due to meet yesterday.
He told the House of Lords: “We have been pushing for this aid to get in. We have had a whole set of things we have asked the Israelis to do but I have to report to the House that the amount of aid that got in in February was about half of what got in in January.”
He also made clear Israel as the occupying power was responsible, which had consequences under international humanitarian law.
Aid groups say it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies within most of Gaza because of the difficulty of co-ordinating with the Israeli military, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led militants stormed across the border on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250.
The overall Palestinian death toll is more than 30,700, according to Gaza's health ministry. It does not differentiatebetweenciviliansandcombatants in its figures, but says women and children make up around two-thirds of the total casualties. It says more than 72,000 people have been injured.
Meanwhile, a Cypriot government spokesman has said European Union Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will visit Cyprus to inspect installations at the port of Larnaca, from where it is hoped ships loaded with humanitarian aid will soon depart for Gaza, 2490 miles away.
EU spokesman Eric Mamer said the bloc is hopeful that the corridor’s opening “will take place very soon”.
EU Commission spokesman Balazs Ujvari said the maritime corridor could augment the bloc’s efforts to deliver more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Another possibility is to organise air drops, but this would be a last resort and cannot replace ground access to the enclave “which remains absolutely essential”.
Mr Ujvari said the EU has so far carried out around 40 flights to deliver aid to Gaza, primarily through Egypt.
The amount of aid that got in in February was about half of what got in in January Lord Cameron