British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Sunday warned his country's support for Israel is 'not unconditional' after aid workers will killed in an Israeli airstrike last week. File Photo by Andy Rain/EPA-EFE
April 7 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza on Sunday as Foreign Minister David Cameron said British support for Israel is "not unconditional."
Cameron, writing in an op-ed in The Sunday Times of London that is mostly critical of Hamas over Israel, said there is "no doubt where the blame is" after three British aid workers were killed in an Israeli strike. He said Israel, as the occupying power, "has a responsibility to the people of Gaza."
"Israel's inquiry has already enumerated the inadequate processes and the unacceptable conduct of the IDF personnel involved. This must never happen again," Cameron wrote, while emphasizing that the conflict started when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
Palestinians disagree that Oct. 7 was the true beginning of recent fighting in the decades-long conflict with Israelis, pointing to earlier violence against Palestinians last year.
"That innocent people have been captured and held is a perpetual reminder of the monstrous organization we are dealing with," Cameron wrote of Hamas. His comments do not condemn the mass detention of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Meanwhile, Sunak expressed his belief that Israel has a "right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists" even as he called for an end to the hostilities in the wake of Israel's alarming strike on a convoy of workers from the World Central Kitchen charity.
Hamas, a Palestinian militia that has long fought against Israeli occupation, is considered a terrorist group by Israel and its allies, including Britain and the United States. Sunak's comments did not include any remarks about whether the same right of self-defense is extended to Palestinians.
More than 6,400 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces or illegal settlers between January 2008 and Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, according to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Just 310 Israelis had been killed in that same time frame.
"We continue to stand by Israel's right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists and defend their security," Sunak said in his statement. "But the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed and appalled by the killing of brave British heroes who were bringing food to those in need."
Sunak said the "hostages must be released" as he stressed that Israel needs to allow more aid to be delivered to people in Gaza.
