UK foreign minister says British backing for Israel ‘not unconditional’

Britain’s support for Israel depends on it abiding by international humanitarian law, UK foreign minister David Cameron writes in a newspaper column, days after an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers in Gaza, including three Britons.

“Our backing is not unconditional,” Cameron writes in The Sunday Times. “We expect such a proud and successful democracy to abide by international humanitarian law, even when challenged.”

The British government has been a staunch ally of Israel since Hamas’s shock onslaught on southern Israel on October 7 that triggered the war. But Cameron has hardened his language in recent months over the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.

Cameron warns of the risk of mass starvation unless Israel allowed more aid. On Saturday, Britain said it would supply a naval vessel to ship aid as part of an international effort.

He also adds that the UK’s top focus since October 7 has been “support for the hostages and their families.”

“That innocent people have been captured and held is a perpetual reminder of the monstrous organization we are dealing with,” he writes.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages — 129 of whom remain in captivity.