UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that “too many lives have been lost” in Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza, which has so far killed nearly 20,000 people.
The line repeated the UK government calls for a “sustainable ceasefire”, which falls short of the more general desire for an immediate ceasefire.
“Israel obviously has a right to defend itself against what was an appalling terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas, but it must do that in accordance with humanitarian law,” Sunak said, according to The Independent.
“It’s clear that too many civilian lives have been lost and nobody wants to see this conflict go on a day longer than it has to,” he added. The British prime minister also said that his government had been “consistent” in calling for what it termed a “sustainable ceasefire”.
The UK government, however, has refrained from calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza multiple times, despite the horrific situation in the Palestinian territory and growing global outrage over the indiscriminate killing of civilians.
Sunak’s remarks follow comments by former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, who said that Israel’s “killing rage” in Gaza risks fuelling the conflict “for another 50 years”.
On the weekend, UK and German foreign ministers, David Cameron and Annalena Baerbock, also called for a “sustainable ceasefire” in a joint opinion piece. RELATED
What do Western politicians mean by ‘sustainable ceasefire’?
MENAThe New Arab Staff
Last October, days after the Al-Ahli Baptist hospital in Gaza was hit, killing almost 500 people, Sunak travelled to Tel Aviv and expressed “solidarity with the Israeli people”.
“We want you to win,” Sunak said at a press conference with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, making no mention of the hundreds of civilians being killed in Gaza daily.
The United Nations and various aid organizations have reported that critical supplies – such as food, water, fuel, and medicine are not reaching the Gaza Strip – describing the situation there as “hellish”.
Around 90 percent of the 2.3 million inhabitants of the territory have been displaced as a result of the Israeli military campaign.
Hospitals, schools, places of worship, and other civilian infrastructure have been repeatedly targeted by Israel during the war.
