UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel over Gaza

The UK, France and Canada have warned Israel they will take “concrete actions” if it continues an “egregious” expansion of military operations in Gaza.

Sir Keir Starmer joined the French and Canadian leaders to call on the Israeli government to “stop its military operations” and “immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza”.

No food, fuel or medicine had been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, a situation the UN previously described as taking a “disastrous toll” on the Palestinian population.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying the three leaders had offered a “huge prize” for Hamas in the Gaza war.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said his country would allow a “basic amount of food” to enter the territory after an 11-week long blockade but it planned to take “control of all of Gaza”.

The three Western leaders criticised this as “wholly inadequate” as the “denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law”.

They added the level of suffering in Gaza was “intolerable”.

They also condemned “the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli Government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate”.

“Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law,” they added.

UN humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat, said the number of aid trucks which had been cleared to enter was a “drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed”.

“We have always supported Israel’s right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate,” the leaders’ statement added, referring to Israel’s renewed offensive.

Sir Keir, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney also called for Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages taken in the “heinous attack” on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack which saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage.

Some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

Gaza’s health ministry, which is run by Hamas, says more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s military campaign.

The statement from the UK, France and Canada reiterated support for a ceasefire as well as the implementation of a “two-state solution”, which proposes an independent Palestinian state which would exist alongside Israel.

Netanyahu hit back at the suggestion: “By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities.”

He also called on “all European leaders” to follow US President Donald “Trump’s vision” for ending the conflict.