(Rome) The head of British diplomacy David Cameron on Tuesday asked Israel for “a more surgical, clinical and targeted approach” in its fight against Hamas, following a meeting in Rome with his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani.
“What we are asking of Israel is to recognize that it must minimize civilian casualties, respect international humanitarian law at all times and continue its campaign against Hamas with both of these things in mind,” he said. he declared to the press.
Noting that there were fewer civilian casualties in southern Gaza than in the north, according to Israelis, he urged Israeli forces to make more efforts in this direction.
Mr. Cameron and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock wrote a joint article on Sunday in the British weekly Sunday Times calling for a “lasting ceasefire” in Gaza, saying that “too many civilians have been killed” in the conflict.
Asked about the lasting ceasefire, Cameron said on Tuesday that stopping the fighting “is not sustainable if you stop it permanently and Hamas continues to control even part of Gaza.” “.
“People say I want a ceasefire and a two-state solution. The two things cannot go together. “The Israelis cannot be expected to adopt a two-state solution, with Hamas controlling part of what would be Palestine,” Cameron said.
“A lasting solution means that Hamas no longer poses a threat to Israel, that it is no longer able to do what it did on October 7,” concluded the head of British diplomacy.
At the same time in London, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was being pressed by a parliamentary committee to indicate whether he believed the Israeli response violated international law.
“Too many civilians are dying, of course too many civilians are dying. This is not the same as saying that humanitarian law has been violated,” he said.
The “lasting ceasefire” defended by the United Kingdom cannot be obtained “if hostages are still held” by Hamas and “if Hamas, whose declared objective is to destroy Israel, is still capable of “operate in tunnels and launch rocket attacks on Israel,” he added.
The war between Israel and Hamas was triggered by a bloody and unprecedented attack perpetrated by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip.
Around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, were killed in this attack, according to an AFP count based on the latest official Israeli figures available. 250 people were forcibly taken to Gaza, around 100 of whom have since been released.
After the October 7 attack, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas, shelling Palestinian territory, besieging it, and carrying out a vast ground operation since October 27.
More than 19,660 civilians died in Israeli bombings, mostly women, children and adolescents, according to the Hamas health ministry.