REACTION: Oxfam response to escalating the military offensive on Rafah

An Oxfam spokesperson said: “The appalling human cost of further escalating the military offensive on Rafah will be unconscionable. Over a million souls are currently trapped in an area smaller than Milton Keynes, including at least half a million children. Consensus in the international community is clear: as Israeli bombs fall on homeless, starving and wounded Palestinians, there are no longer any places of safety in Gaza, there are no functioning hospitals and there is extremely limited aid available.

“The UK's Deputy Foreign Secretary has made clear that he could not easily see how such an offensive could be compliant with international humanitarian law. The UK government will be complicit in this carnage as long as it continues to sell arms to Israel, in the knowledge that they are likely being used to kill and maim Gaza’s population.

"The time for equivocal statements about Israel’s military conduct is over. No country should be allowed to kill tens of thousands of civilians and destroy vital infrastructure with impunity. With so many children and their loved ones already dead, decisive action is needed to stop Israel killing many thousands more. Britain can do its bit to halt these senseless deaths by suspending and revoking arms licenses to Israel today – as occurred under previous governments including that of Margaret Thatcher – and using every possible diplomatic and economic lever at the UK’s disposal to secure an immediate, permanent ceasefire and the release of all Israeli hostages.”

Notes to editors:

David Cameron’s statement to Parliament can be read here https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-04-30/debates/B090FCC7-01DE-459B-9D8F-0B0ADE97D1FE/RafahMilitaryOffensive#:~:text=Given%20the%20number%20of%20civilians,to%20prevent%20the%20circumstances%20he