Attacks by Israeli extremists on aid convoys en route to Gaza appalling: UK foreign secretary

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The British foreign secretary on Tuesday said attacks on aid convoys carrying foods to Gaza are "appalling," urging Israel to hold those "extremists" to account.

"Attacks by extremists on aid convoys en route to Gaza are appalling," David Cameron wrote on X, stressing that Gazans are at risk of famine and in desperate need of supplies.

A video circulating on social media on Monday showed illegal Israeli settlers blocking the vehicles and throwing food aid boxes at Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The food-carrying trucks were later set on fire.

"Israel must hold attackers to account and do more to allow aid in – I will be raising my concerns with the Israeli government," added Cameron.

Israel has waged a military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

More than 35,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 78,700 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.