UK premier hosts Jordan's King to discuss Gaza

LONDON

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Jordan’s King Abdullah II “agreed it was critical as a first step to secure an immediate humanitarian pause” in Gaza, a UK government statement said Thursday.

Sunak met the visiting king at Downing Street and “reiterated the high value the United Kingdom places on our historic partnership and Jordan’s vital regional role,” the statement said.

The leaders also underscored the importance of “getting hostages out and considerably more aid in.”

The statement also said the UK “ultimately wanted to see a sustainable cease-fire – which would require Hamas to no longer be in charge in Gaza and Israel’s security to be assured.”

Sunak “welcomed Jordan’s innovative efforts to deliver life-saving aid to Gaza by land and air, and he set out the UK’s work to unblock aid access and alleviate the humanitarian crisis.”

The UK was deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of any offensive on civilians sheltering in Rafah, according to the statement.

Sunak and King Abdullah also “discussed the importance of de-escalating tensions in the West Bank and bolstering the role of the Palestinian Authority to deliver security and prosperity. The prime minister highlighted steps the UK has taken to support stability in the West Bank, including sanctioning extremist settlers.”

Also on Thursday, Sunak told his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu that “the UK was deeply concerned about the loss of civilian life in Gaza and the potentially devastating humanitarian impact of a military incursion into (the city of) Rafah.”

But Sunak also reaffirmed the UK’s continued support for Israel’s right to defend its people against Hamas’s terror and ensure its long-term security, according to a separate statement.

Sunak reiterated in the phone call with Netanyahu that the “immediate priority must be negotiating a humanitarian pause to allow the safe release of hostages and to facilitate considerably more aid going to Gaza, leading to a longer-term sustainable cease-fire.”

He highlighted the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and urged Israel to fully open the Kerem Shalom crossing and allow the maritime delivery of international aid through Ashdod port, which the UK stood ready to support, highlighting the “importance of continuing to abide by international humanitarian law and protecting civilian infrastructure like hospitals and shelters.”

“The prime minister said more must be done to ease restrictions on humanitarian supplies and ensure the UN and aid agencies can reach civilians in need throughout Gaza,” the statement added.

The Palestinian death toll from Israel's deadly offensive against the Gaza Strip has jumped to 28,663 since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the war-battered enclave said on Thursday.

A ministry statement added that 68,395 other people have also been injured in the ongoing onslaught.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in October, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.