UK’s Cameron: International community should prepare for Rafah invasion if talks fail

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron says world powers must plan for the possibility that ongoing hostage talks may not bear fruit and that Israel could move forward with its operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Plan A is for the US, Qatar and Egypt to secure a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas for a temporary pause in the fighting that can be turned into a sustainable ceasefire during which Hamas leaders are removed from Gaza and terror infrastructure is dismantled. “That is the way to have a political process that brings the war to an end,” Cameron says in a press conference alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington.

“We have to be aware that if it doesn’t work, we have to think about Plan B — what is it that humanitarian and other organizations can do to make sure that if there is a conflict in Rafah, that people can achieve safety — they can get food, water and medicine,” the top British diplomat says, noting that he will be discussing the matter today in his meeting with Blinken.

Cameron says the UK’s policy on the war is four-pronged: supporting the hostages, getting more aid into Gaza, leading on the international stage through initiatives such as last month’s UN Security Council resolution that called for a ceasefire and hostage release and supporting Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas.

The highlighting of the fourth prong appeared notable amid growing calls in the UK and other countries to cut assistance to Israel due to the high death toll in Gaza.

“We want to see 500 trucks a day, we want to see the water supply switched back on, we want to see Ashdod and a northern crossing point open and crucially we want to see this deconfliction because getting aid to Gaza on its own isn’t enough. You’ve got to be able to get aid around Gaza,” Cameron says.