Israel makes 'big mistakes' in Gaza, says UK deputy premier

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Britain's deputy prime minister on Sunday said Israel has made "big mistakes," in the Gaza Strip where more than 33,000 people have been killed since Oct. 7.

On the six-month anniversary of the cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, Oliver Dowden said the UK was not giving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government "carte blanche" over its actions, and was having "robust conversations" with them, especially after the killing of three UK aid workers.

The US-based food charity World Central Chicken confirmed Tuesday that seven of its humanitarian aid workers were killed in an Israeli strike late Monday.

The workers were nationals of Australia, Poland, the UK, and Palestine, as well as a US-Canadian dual citizen.

In an interview with Sky News, Dowden said it is important to understand "the trauma it (Israel) is still suffering" since a cross-border attack by Hamas.

Referring to the debate over whether the country should cease arms export to Israel and the advice from government's lawyers, Dowden said it was an "ongoing process" and it would remain "confidential."

"We should think back to how Israel was on the day of that attack, the trauma it is still suffering. Of course, Israel has made mistakes and made big mistakes and we should hold them to account for that, but we are holding them to a very high standard," he noted.

Dowden added that UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary David Cameron had shared their concerns with Netanyahu.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Nearly 33,200 Palestinians have since been killed and almost 75,900 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.