Cnn
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International pressure rises on Israel in the midst of its renewal of the military operation in the Gaza Strip, while the United Kingdom and the European Union announced distancing measures of the country on Tuesday.
The United Kingdom has interrupted commercial negotiations with Israel and sanctioned the settlers of the West Bank, while the first British diplomat criticized the Israel Operation in Gaza as “morally unjustifiable” and “totally disproportionate”.
Meanwhile, the European Union announced that it would examine its relations with Israel, the head of the EU foreign policy calling for the situation on the ground in “catastrophic” Gaza.
The announcements intervene a day after the United Kingdom, France and Canada have threatened to take “concrete measures”, including targeted sanctions, if Israel does not stop its new offensive and continues to block the assistance of the entry to Gaza. On Tuesday, however, the Israeli army promised to “develop” its operations in the enclave.
Since May 5, Israel has been carrying out a new offensive in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his country was planning to “take control of the whole Gaza Strip”. Hundreds have been killed and an Israeli blockade meant that no help entered the band for 11 weeks until Monday, when five trucks were authorized – a tiny fraction of the 500 trucks which, according to the authorities, are necessary every day to support the population.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the humanitarian situation of Gaza “intolerable” on Tuesday, stressing that helping the “at the rate” band.
“The current situation in which we see the bombardment, including children, and the famine perspective, is simply intolerable,” said Starmer, adding that “we coordinate with our allies on this subject”.
Addressing the legislators on Tuesday, British Foreign Minister David Lammy stressed that the United Kingdom was supporting Israel’s right to defend itself after Hamas’ attacks on October 7, 2023, but said that the conflict “entered a new dark phase”.
“For 11 weeks, Israeli forces blocked Gaza, leaving the global food program without any – any – remaining actions,” he said. “We are now entering a new dark phase of this conflict. The Netanyahu government plans to lead the Gazans of their homes in a corner of the strip to the south and allow them a fraction of the aid they need. ”
Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tzipura Hotovely, was summoned to the Israeli offensive in Gaza, as well as the violence of Israeli colonists and the expansion of Israeli regulations in occupied West Bank, said British Foreign Office in a statement.
The colonists are Jewish Israelis who live in the territories occupied by the Israelis, mainly in communities built by the Israeli government. Since the October 7 attack in Hamas, the settlers have accelerated seizures of land in the West Bank with the support of the state.
“The approval of the regulation has accelerated while the violence of the colonists has skyrocketed,” Lammy told legislators on Tuesday, announcing new sanctions against three people and four entities involved in the settlers’ movement, in addition to a series of sanctions last fall.
Lammy added: “We will continue to act against those who make heinous abuse of human rights.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel called the sanctions against the “confusing, unjustified and particularly regrettable” settlers, adding that “external pressure will not turn Israel from its path in the struggle for its existence and its security against enemies in search of its destruction”.
“If, due to anti-Israeli obsession and internal political considerations, the British government is willing to harm its own economy-it is its decision,” he said during the break of trade negotiations by the United Kingdom.
Shortly after the announcement of the United Kingdom, Kaja Kallas, the head of the EU foreign policy, announced that the block would examine its association agreement with Israel because of its blockade of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
The agreement of the Association of EU-Israel covers various forms of cooperation between the two parties, in particular political dialogue, the free movement of goods and scientific collaboration.
Article two of the document stresses that “relations between the parties … are based on respect for human rights and democratic principles”.
A “large majority” of EU members voted in favor of an examination of article two in the agreement with Israel, said Kallas.
“So we will launch this exercise,” she said. “In the meantime, it is up to Israel to unlock humanitarian aid.”
Israel has criticized Kallas’s statement, saying that it indicates a “misunderstanding of the complex reality that Israel is confronted”. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the EU of “ignoring” an initiative supported by the Americans to send aid to Gaza without it reaching Hamas, and Israel’s decision to facilitate the entry of aid in the enclave.
“We call on the EU to exert pressure where it belongs – on Hamas,” posted the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X.
Hundreds of thousands facing famine
In addition to the military offensive underway in Gaza, the aid blockade of one month of Israel left one in five in the enclave faced with famine while the edges of the whole territory of famine, according to the United Nations.
Israel said that the blockade, as well as its new military campaign, aimed to put Hamas to release the hostages held in the strip. But many international organizations have accused Israel of having used famine as a weapon of war.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the United Nations Humanitarian Office, told CNN on Tuesday that it is “imperative to obtain supplies in Gaza to save around 14,000 babies likely to suffer from acute malnutrition”.
The Israeli army announced Sunday that it would allow a “amount of basic food” to enter Gaza while it launched its new major offensive in the strip. The reason, said the army, was the fact that a “famine crisis” in Gaza “would endanger the operation”.
Netanyahu also suggested on Monday that Israel authorizes small amounts of food in the enclave to maintain the support of its international allies.
The Israeli Prime Minister said that “even our allies closest to the world – the American senators I know personally” had told him that they support the War of Israel against Hamas, but “cannot accept … Images of mass famine”.
“We are approaching (we approach) from a dangerous point that we do not want to reach,” added Netanyahu.
The leader of the left Democratic Party of Israel, withdrew Israeli General Yair Golan, warned Tuesday that Israel was “in the process of becoming a pariah state” because of his actions in Gaza.
“A healthy country of mind does not make war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby and did not set itself an objective to expel a population,” he told Israel’s public information chain, Kan News. Netanyahu described Golan’s claim a “scandalous incentive against our heroic soldiers and against the state of Israel”.
On Tuesday, the chief of staff of the Israeli army Eyal Zamir promised that Israel “widen the maneuver” and “would occupy additional territories” in Gaza until Hamas is defeated.
“The IDF works at any time in accordance with the values of the TSAhal, to law and international law, while without compromising the security of the State of Israel and its citizens. Any declaration which doubts the value of our actions and the morality of our fighters is baseless,” said Zamir.
On Monday, five aid trucks entered Gaza, according to the Israeli agency, which approves assistance expeditions in the region, a number that French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot called “completely insufficient”.
On Tuesday, Israel gave its approval to the UN to send trucks “about 100” in the enclave, according to Laerke.
Laerke said he hoped that many, if not all, aid trucks could cross a point in Gaza on Tuesday.
“We have to get supplies as soon as possible, ideally in the next 48 hours. We will try to reach as much as possible in the coming days-and we favor baby food during the first convoys,” he said.
COGAT, the Israeli agency which approves the assistance expeditions to Gaza, said that 93 United Nations trucks crossed Gaza on Tuesday evening. These trucks transported flour, baby food and drugs in the strip, according to the spokesperson for the UN secretary general, Stephane Dujarric.
Although the aid is now in the enclave, it has not yet been distributed, said Dujarric. Israeli security forces have ordered the trucks must be unloaded and recharged before receiving permission to be given to the teams inside Gaza, he said.
“So, just to specify it, while more supplies have entered the Gaza Strip, we have not been able to guarantee the arrival of these supplies in our warehouses and delivery points,” said Dujarric.
This story has been updated with developments.
