The Israeli offensive on Rafah will violate international law

The Israeli military offensive on the city of Rafah will violate international humanitarian law and will not lead to the destruction of Hamas, British Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said on Tuesday.

This was reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to The Guardian.

The representative of the British Foreign Office refrained from answering the question of what Britain's actions would be in the event of a full-scale Israeli invasion of Rafah.

According to the newspaper, the UK's position is to ensure a permanent and lasting ceasefire and to remove Hamas from the future governance of Gaza.

Mitchell said that an invasion of Rafah could lead to a strengthening, not a weakening, of Hamas.

He suggests that the crisis will force centrists in the Israeli government, such as Benny Gantz, to move away from supporting Netanyahu. For now, Gantz has called for continued ceasefire talks but added that the Hamas proposal "does not correspond to the dialogue that has taken place so far with the mediators and has significant gaps."

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 08/05/2024