Sir Keir Starmer has warned Benjamin Netanyahu that his plans to occupy Gaza City are “wrong” and will “bring more bloodshed”, as he urged the Israeli prime minister to “step away from the path of destruction”.
The prime minister’s comments come after the Israeli leader’s security cabinet approved plans for a major escalation in the conflict early on Friday
The Israeli plan stops short of fully taking over all of Gaza, as had been touted ahead of the war cabinet meeting.
But Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has slammed the takeover plan as a “disaster” and “exactly what Hamas wanted”.
In a statement, Sir Keir said: “The Israeli government’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong, and we urge it to reconsider immediately.
“This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.”
He warned of the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza and that the hostages taken by Hamas are being held in “appalling and inhuman conditions”, as he reiterated his call for a ceasefire and for more aid to be delivered to the territory.
He again warned Hamas it could “play no part in the future of Gaza” and said it must leave the area as well as disarm.
The UK and its allies are working on a long-term plan to secure peace in the region as part of a two-state solution, he said, “but without both sides engaging in good faith in negotiations, that prospect is vanishing before our eyes. Our message is clear: a diplomatic solution is possible, but both parties must step away from the path of destruction.”
Conservative Party chair Kevin Hollinrake said his party did not want to see an escalation of the war but added that “people need to remember there are still 50 hostages still captive in Gaza held by Hamas.”
“Israel is fighting for its life,” he told Sky News.
He also hit out at Sir Keir’s plans to recognise Palestine next month if there is no ceasefire, saying: “Any kind of unconditional ceasefire or recognition of a Palestinian state has got to be wrong at this time, this has got to be a deal that makes Hamas put down its arms, I’ve not seen any proposal on the table that will do that.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said it was “increasingly clear” Mr Netanyahu’s “goal is ethnic cleansing” in Gaza and urged Sir Keir Starmer to stop the export of all UK arms to Israel and sanction the premier.
Diane Abbott, who was recently suspended by Labour, hit out at her former party on social media: “This might be what Netanyahu wanted all along. Massacres, collective punishments, starvation, forced displacement. All war crimes. All aided by Western governments including our own.”
The PM has pledged to recognise a Palestinian state by September unless Israel meets a series of conditions towards ending the war in Gaza.
If the Gaza City offensive goes ahead, the prospect of it meeting his conditions would likely diminish.
Israeli media have reported that the planned offensive will begin with the entire population of Gaza ordered to move south, followed by a siege on Gaza City in time for the anniversary of Hamas’s bloody 7 October attack.
Mr Netanyahu has said that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank will be allowed to be involved in the civil administration that will take over.
In response, Hamas said Netanyahu’s remarks “confirm that he seeks to get rid of his prisoners and sacrifice them to serve his personal interests and extremist ideological agendas”.
