UK deputy foreign secretary: 'not easy to see' how Israeli offensive on Rafah could be compliant with international humanitarian law
The UK’s deputy foreign secretary, Andrew Mitchell, has told lawmakers in parliament in London that in the present circumstances, it was “not easy to see” how an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip could be “compliant with international humanitarian law”.
Answering a question about the prospect of Israel launching a ground assault on Rafah, where an estimated 1.5 million people are sheltering, Mitchell said:
Given the number of civilians 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 said the British government was doing everything it could to prevent an assault on Rafah while it was sheltering civilians.
Mitchell reiterated the words of the foreign secretary, David Cameron, yesterday, telling MPs that “Hamas should accept the deal that has been put on the table”, while accepting that “these negotiations are fluid at the moment”.
Shadow foreign secretary, the opposition Labour MP David Lammy, said:
More than 30,000 Palestinians are dead, more than 100 Israeli hostages are still unaccounted for and Gaza is facing famine. The war must end now with an immediate ceasefire; that needs both sides to agree.
It was Hamas, not Israel, which rejected the last internationally brokered ceasefire deal. Now a new offer is on the table. Hamas has the power now to stop the fighting.
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will enter the city of Rafah in southern Gaza to eliminate Hamas, with or without a ceasefire and hostage release deal. He added that the notion of ending the war before Israel has reached its objectives is not an option.
Hamas officials have left Cairo after talks with Egyptian officials on a new ceasefire proposal in Gaza, according to Egypt’s state-owned Al-Qahera News satellite channel. The channel, which has close ties with Egyptian security agencies, said a Hamas delegation will return to Cairo with a written response to the ceasefire proposal, without saying when. Israeli media has reported that Israel will not be sending a delegation to Cairo for ceasefire talks until it has a reply from Hamas on the latest proposal.
The UK’s deputy foreign secretary, Andrew Mitchell, has told lawmakers in parliament in London that in the present circumstances, it was “not easy to see” how an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip could be “compliant with international humanitarian law”.
The top UN court has rejected a request by Nicaragua to order Germany to halt military and other aid to Israel and to renew funding to the UN aid agency in Gaza. The International Court of Justice said that legal conditions for making such an order weren’t met. However, it did not throw out the case entirely, as Germany had requested. The court said it remained deeply concerned about conditions in Gaza.
More than 34,535 Palestinians have been killed and 77,704 have been wounded during the Israeli military offensive in Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-led Gaza health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The Gaza Civil Emergency Service has estimated that the bodies of a further 10,000 Palestinians were under the rubble of hundreds of destroyed buildings. It said those figures had not been included in the updated health ministry death toll, which only registers bodies that are taken to hospitals.
An Israeli police officer has been “moderately wounded” in a stabbing incident in near Herod’s Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. The suspect, believed to be a Turkish national who had entered Israel as a tourist, was shot and killed.
Unrwa commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini has said that Unrwa staff who have been interrogated by Israeli security forces are being “pressured to state that the agency is politically affiliated”.
In the wider region, it has been announced that Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will visit Iran on 6-8 May.
UN court rejects Nicaragua case over German arms exports to Israel
The top UN court has rejected a request by Nicaragua to order Germany to halt military and other aid to Israel and to renew funding to the UN aid agency in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice said that legal conditions for making such an order weren’t met. However, it did not throw out the case entirely, as Germany had requested.
The court said it remained deeply concerned about conditions in Gaza.
Nicaragua had alleged that Germany is enabling genocide by sending arms and other support to Israel. The Central American country established direct diplomatic relations with Palestine in 1980.
If you are interested in finding out more about the crisis in the Middle East and the Guardian’s reporting on it, we have an event later today which might help.
Guardian Newsroom: Crisis in the Middle East is a livestreamed event which will be chaired by Devika Bhat, the Guardian’s deputy head of international news, and will feature contributions from Peter Beaumont, the Guardian’s senior international reporter, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Guardian reporter, and Emma Graham-Harrison, senior international affairs correspondent.
The event takes place on Tuesday 30 April 2024, from 7pm-8:15pm BST. You can book tickets online, and find out more details here …
UK deputy foreign secretary: 'not easy to see' how Israeli offensive on Rafah could be compliant with international humanitarian law
The UK’s deputy foreign secretary, Andrew Mitchell, has told lawmakers in parliament in London that in the present circumstances, it was “not easy to see” how an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip could be “compliant with international humanitarian law”.
Answering a question about the prospect of Israel launching a ground assault on Rafah, where an estimated 1.5 million people are sheltering, Mitchell said:
Given the number of civilians 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 said the British government was doing everything it could to prevent an assault on Rafah while it was sheltering civilians.
Mitchell reiterated the words of the foreign secretary, David Cameron, yesterday, telling MPs that “Hamas should accept the deal that has been put on the table”, while accepting that “these negotiations are fluid at the moment”.
Shadow foreign secretary, the opposition Labour MP David Lammy, said:
More than 30,000 Palestinians are dead, more than 100 Israeli hostages are still unaccounted for and Gaza is facing famine. The war must end now with an immediate ceasefire; that needs both sides to agree.
It was Hamas, not Israel, which rejected the last internationally brokered ceasefire deal. Now a new offer is on the table. Hamas has the power now to stop the fighting.
Palestinian news agency Wafa has reported that ten people have been detained by Israeli security forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank during raids today.
The vehicle of a member of German diplomatic staff was hit by stones thrown by crowds during his visit to University of Birzeit north of Ramallah, Haaretz reports.
רכב של האיחוד האירופי מותקף באוניברסיטת ביר זית שמצפון לרמאללה, היום. שימוש לפי סעיף 27 א' pic.twitter.com/3Nz0DcpeCX
Israeli police said today that a Turkish national stabbed an Israeli border policeman officer in Jerusalem and was then shot dead by officers, Reuters reported.
The Israeli prime minister’s office has shared his comments on Rafah.
Prime Minister Netanyahu: "The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory." pic.twitter.com/1d7SCYWJIP
Haaretz reports that Netanyahu made the comments during a meeting with representatives of hostage families, and quotes him saying “the idea that we will end the war before achieving all of our objectives is unacceptable. We will enter Rafah and obliterate all the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, to achieve total victory.”
Netanyahu: Israel will enter Rafah with or without deal
Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will enter the city of Rafah in southern Gaza to eliminate Hamas, with or without a ceasefire and hostage release deal. He added that the notion of ending the war before Israel has reached its objectives is not an option.
