LONDON: A UK minister on Wednesday said that Britain does not support Israel’s expansion of military operations in Gaza.
“We are deeply concerned about the resumption of hostilities in Gaza. The UK does not support an expansion of Israel’s military operations,” junior foreign office minister Hamish Falconer, told parliament.
There is a “serious risk Israel is not simply acting in its own legitimate self defence,” he added.
When asked about Israel’s aid blockade, Falconer said that “we have determined that there is a serious risk of breaches of international humanitarian law by the Israeli government. We will continue to press them on these points.”
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of the military invasion of Gaza, saying the army would seize “large areas” of the Palestinian territory.
Katz said Israel would bolster its presence in the Gaza Strip to “destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure”.
The operation would “seize large areas that will be incorporated into Israeli security zones”, he said in a statement, without specifying how much territory.
21 killed in newly reported strikes
According to Al Jazeera, Israeli air strikes killed at least 21 people, including children, in Khan Yunis and the Nuseirat refugee camp since dawn Wednesday.
The health ministry in Gaza reported on Tuesday that 1,042 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed military operations, bringing the total death toll since the war began on October 7, 2023, to at least 50,399, with the majority of victims being civilians.
Hunger is becoming a growing concern in Gaza City, as bakeries have closed due to severe shortages of flour and sugar.
UN condemns Israeli attack
The United Nations on Tuesday condemned an Israeli army attack on an emergency convoy that killed 15 aid workers and medical personnel and demanded an investigation.
“I condemn the attack by the Israeli army on a medical and emergency convoy on 23 March resulting in the killing of 15 medical personnel and humanitarian workers in Gaza,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.
On Sunday, Netanyahu offered to let Hamas leaders leave Gaza but demanded the group abandon its arms.
The Israeli leader has rejected domestic criticism that his government — one of the most right-wing in Israel’s history — was not doing enough to secure the hostages’ release.
“We are negotiating under fire… We can see cracks beginning to appear” in Hamas’s positions during ceasefire talks, he told his cabinet.
