It’s “in Israel’s interest” to avoid civilian casualties and Palestinian casualties, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Sunday.
It comes as Gaza braces for imminent Israeli offensives aimed at eliminating the Hamas terrorist group, which launched massive missile attacks against Israel on Oct. 7 and slaughtered civilians on the ground.
Speaking to Sky News’s “Sunday with Trevor Phillips” programme about the Israel-Hamas war, Mr. Cleverly said he has “reinforced the UK’s position about the preservation of life, the avoidance of civilian casualties” whenever he spoke to the Israeli ministers, who “completely understand that.”
“I have said that it is in Israel’s interest to avoid civilian casualties and Palestinian casualties because Hamas clearly wants to turn this into a wider Arab-Israeli war, or indeed a war between the Muslim world and the wider world,” he said.
“And none of us, including Israel, want that to be the case.”
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has called on civilians in Gaza City to evacuate to the south as it prepares to target Hamas’s network of underground tunnels.
The United Nations and other charities have said it’s difficult for vulnerable people, such as children, pregnant women, or the sick and the disabled to leave and called on Israel not to target hospitals, schools, clinics, and U.N. locations. But IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Hamas has used hospitals and U.N. buildings as command centers by digging tunnels, and denied that the IDF targeted civilian infrastructure.
IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus also cited intelligence sources, saying Hamas has been “actively” blocking Gaza civilians from evacuating.
Asked whether he had asked Israel to wait until civilians have moved out before launching attacks, Mr. Cleverly told the BBC’s “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg” programme that it’s “really really important” to note that Hamas has been “telling Palestinians not to leave northern Gaza” after Israel urged them to evacuate.
“So Israel is [sic] saying you should leave northern Gaza for your own safety. Hamas is trying to prevent Palestinians from doing so because Hamas wants those civilians to be a human shield against Israel’s actions,” he said.
Pressed on whether he made the specific request to Israel, the foreign secretary said he didn’t, adding, “Of course, we want to minimise Palestinian casualties. We want to minimise Israeli casualties. We want everybody to respect civilians, but the real clear distinction is: Israel is trying to get civilians out of danger, and Hamas is trying to put civilians in danger. And that is a fundamental difference between the two.”
The foreign secretary said Israel “does have the right to defend itself and protect itself from terrorist attacks from Hamas coming out of Gaza” and “a duty to minimise civilian casualties.”
Asked by Sir Trevor Phillips if it’s a “realistic objective” to eradicate Hamas, Mr. Cleverly sidestepped on how likely it is Israel will succeed but focused on the reason why Israel would want to achieve the aim.
When he visited Israel this week, there was “a feeling that they have got to secure southern parts of Israel from terrorist attack,” he said.
“Hamas has been a roadblock to peace for decades. They refuse to be part of the Oslo agreement. They completely reject a two-state solution. They consistently call for the eradication of the state of Israel and the targeting of Jews around the world. And Israel clearly feels that they have got to permanently protect themselves against terror,” he added.
The Foreign Office confirmed on Saturday that three flights have left Israel with British nationals on board.
Mr. Cleverly told Sir Trevor that the government will continue to support British nationals in Gaza.
But he was unable to provide “any certainty” on if or when a humanitarian corridor from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah border can be opened because it has proven “incredibly difficult” to coordinate “a number of parties including the Egyptian authorities, including the Israeli authorities, and of course, including Hamas who have a stranglehold on Gaza itself.”
