UK foreign secretary says support for Israel 'not unconditional'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Britain’s support for Israel is not "unconditional" and depends on it abiding by international humanitarian law, Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a newspaper column Sunday.

"Of course our backing is not unconditional: we expect such a proud and successful democracy to abide by international humanitarian law, even when challenged," he wrote in The Sunday Times.

Cameron’s remarks came at a time when six months have passed since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas and nearly a week after an Israeli strike killed seven food aid workers in the Gaza Strip.

The US-based food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) confirmed last Tuesday that seven of its humanitarian aid workers were killed in an Israeli strike the previous day.

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

Cameron noted that the "tragic and avoidable killing" of the WCK aid workers was a "terrible reminder" of the cost of the Gaza conflict.

He said there is no doubt where the blame lies, adding “Israel’s inquiry has already enumerated the inadequate processes and the unacceptable conduct” of the Israeli army personnel involved.

"This must never happen again," he said, reminding that three of the aid workers killed in the strike were British citizens.

Turning to the ongoing humanitarian efforts for the besieged enclave, he said there is the need for a "flood of aid."

The British government on Saturday announced a new package of military and civilian support "to set up a maritime aid corridor to Gaza," including the deployment of a Royal Navy ship to join the life-saving mission in the Eastern Mediterranean.

"We cannot stand by with our head in our hands, wishing for an end to the fighting that may well not come — and that means ensuring the protection of people in all of Gaza, including Rafah," said Cameron.

He stressed that as an occupying power, Israel has a responsibility to the people of Gaza, stressing that ordinary civilians must be safe and able to access fundamental needs.

Cameron added that he "desperately wants this conflict to end" and for the people of Israel and the people of Gaza to be able to live their lives in peace and security.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack early last October by Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

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

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which recently asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.​​​​​​​