The UK’s foreign secretary David Cameron has said he would like to see a „sustainable ceasefire” in the Israel-Gaza conflict, as „too many civilians have been killed” in Gaza.
Indeed, over 18,000 people have been killed, including thousands of children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Cameron’s intervention – which appeared in a Sunday Times article – marks a shift in tone from the UK government,. What’s more, Cameron penned a joint article with Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock saying that he supported a ceasefire only if it was sustainable in the long term.
He said: „Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations. We therefore support a ceasefire, but only if it is sustainable.”
On Tuesday, the UK and Germany abstained over a United Nations resolution, backed by 153 countries, demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, reports the BBC.
„We do not believe that calling right now for a general and immediate ceasefire, hoping it somehow becomes permanent, is the way forward”, Cameron wrote seeking to explain the UK’s decision.
Now the UK and Germany are pushing for further humanitarian pauses to get more aid in and more hostages out.
In a sign attitudes are shifting, in the article, the UK and Germany foreign ministers warned that Israel „should do more to discriminate sufficiently between terrorists and civilians”. They also demanded more aid reach Gaza amid the United Nations warning of a humanitarian catastrophe due to widespread shortages of basic supplies.
The US White House has also expressed concern about the failure of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to reduce devastating civilian casualties. Netanyahu replied, „Military pressure is necessary both for the return of the hostages and for victory. Without military pressure… we have nothing.”
