MOSCOW, 25 Oct. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak supports establishing short-term humanitarian pauses in the Middle East to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, but opposes a complete ceasefire, Sky News reported on Wednesday, citing Sunak's official representative.
““A complete ceasefire will only play into the hands of Hamas. Humanitarian pauses – temporary, limited in scope – can be an operational tool, and, obviously, this is something that we could consider and what we are discussing,” the channel quotes the words Downing Street representative.
Speaking in parliament, Sunak also said that in order to deliver humanitarian aid and free hostages, it is necessary to create a “safer environment” that involves “certain pauses as opposed to a ceasefire.”
The British Prime Minister's representative also noted that the government «does not agree» with the statements of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict did not happen out of the blue.
Earlier at a UN Security Council meeting, Guterres condemned the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. However, he said that «it is also important to recognize that the Hamas attacks did not occur in a vacuum.» As Guterres recalled, the Palestinian people have been “subjected to a suffocating occupation” for 56 years.
On the morning of October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters penetrated into the border areas in southern Israel.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped.
The number of victims in the Gaza Strip exceeded 6.5 thousand people, over 17 thousand were injured. In Israel, according to local authorities, more than 1.3 thousand people died. The Russian Embassy reported that during the escalation of the conflict, 20 Russians were killed, two were taken hostage, and seven were listed as missing. According to various sources, about 150 Israelis may be held captive by Hamas. The movement itself stated that there are about 200-250 prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.