Rafah offensive may not comply with international humanitarian law, says UK minister

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Israel's planned ground operation in Rafah may not be "compliant with international humanitarian law," a UK minister said on Tuesday.

Taking lawmakers' questions in parliament, Andrew Mitchell, minister for international development and Africa, reiterated the government's concern over invasion of the southern Gaza Strip city packed with over a million displaced Palestinians.

After his comment, George Galloway, a lawmaker and leader of the Workers Party of Britain, criticized him and warned that there could be "the worst bloodbath" seen in the world since the World War II.

"We are hours away from a bloodbath that will be that will make Fallujah paled into insignificance that will be the worst bloodbath seen in the world since the Second World War," he said.

Reminding the huge number of civilians sheltering in Rafah, most of them women and children, he said they are "72 hours away from a full scale invasion."

"The minister keeps saying we're going to press Israel. What are you going to do about it if it happens?" he asked.

In response, Mitchell said: "Given the number of civilian sheltering in Rafah, it's not easy to see how such an offensive could be compliant with international humanitarian law in the current circumstances."

He added that the British government is "doing everything it can" to prevent the circumstances which Galloway described.

Asked by Mark Logan, a Conservative Party MP, whether the UK government has given Israel a warning on attack in Rafah, the minister said they have been working with Washington in "lockstep" to prevent the situation.

Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by Hamas, which claimed 1,200 lives and took around 250 as hostages.

- Position on arms export licenses to Israel 'unchanged'

On Britain's highly debated position about arms export licenses to Israel, Mitchell said it is unchanged but the country will keep its position under review.

As required by the "UK's robust arms export control regime," Foreign Secretary David Cameron has reviewed the most recent advice about the situation in Gaza, he added.

After Mitchell's response, Owen Thompson, a Scottish National Party lawmaker, said given the extensive evidence of potential war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law, UK's export licenses system "isn't working."

Thompson asked whether the minister thinks the government should now suspend arms export to Israel "in order to prevent future atrocities."

Mitchell said the UK's position in this regard is "consistent with most of our like-minded partners," who have not taken any decision to suspend existing arms export licenses to Israel. "It will be an odd decision for us to take when we've used our own military, weaponry to defend Israel from the attacks by Iran," he added.