Cameron calls for Israel to ‘stop the fighting now’ ahead of expected Rafah operation

David Cameron has called for Israel to “stop the fighting now” ahead of expected further action in Rafah in the south of Gaza.

His comments came as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: “We are obviously deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah.”

Downing Street also declined to say whether the Prime Minister believes “total victory” over Hamas was realistic.

Speaking to reporters in East Kilbride, Scotland, the foreign secretary said:”We are very concerned about the situation and we want Israel to stop and think seriously before it takes any further action.

“But above all, what we want is an immediate pause in the fighting. We want that pause to lead to a ceasefire, a sustainable ceasefire without a return to further fighting. That is what should happen now.

“We need to get those hostages out, including the British nationals.

“We need to get the aid in. The best way to do that is to stop the fighting now and turn that into a permanent, sustainable ceasefire.”

The former prime minister said he was “very concerned” about the continuous moving of people adding:” Let’s be clear, the people there, many of who have moved four, five, six times before getting there.

“It really, we think, is impossible to see how you can fight a war amongst these people, there is nowhere for them to go.

“They can’t go south into Egypt, they can’t go north and back to their homes because many have been destroyed.”

Downing Street declined to say whether the Prime Minister believes “total victory” over Hamas was realistic.

Asked about Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims that total victory was within reach, PM Sunak’s official spokesman said on Monday: “That’s the prime minister of Israel’s language.

“From the PM’s perspective, what we want to see is a pause in this fighting so we can get aid in and hostages out, and obviously what we all want to see is a sustainable ceasefire.

“Clearly in order to reach that, as we’ve said before, we need to see measures taken including Hamas no longer in charge of Gaza and an arrangement that ensures the sustainable security of Israel, as well as aid in to support the people living in Gaza.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer has said an expected Israeli invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah would be “catastrophic”.

He said on X: “There are over 1.4 million displaced Palestinians in Rafah and it is the gateway to aid for Gaza – an Israeli offensive there would be catastrophic.“The fighting must stop now. We need a sustainable ceasefire.”