Israel went to war after the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023 armed with an arsenal of weapons mostly paid for, supplied and then resupplied by the United States.
Its other allies gave Israel something just as potent in its own way: a deep credit of goodwill and solidarity, based on revulsion at the killings of 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and the sight of 251 people being dragged into captivity in Gaza as hostages.
Now it seems that Israel’s credit has gone, at least as far as France, the United Kingdom and Canada are concerned. They have issued their strongest condemnation yet of the way Israel is fighting the war in Gaza.
Israel, they say, must halt its new offensive, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says will destroy Hamas, rescue the remaining hostages and put all of Gaza under direct Israeli military control.
Their statement dismisses Netanyahu’s arguments and calls for a ceasefire. Together, the three governments say that they “strongly oppose the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza” adding: “The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable.”
They call for the release of the remaining hostages and recall that after the “heinous attack” on 7 October they believed that the Israeli state “had a right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate”.
Netanyahu’s decision to allow what he called “minimal” food into Gaza was they said “wholly inadequate”
Netanyahu has hit back, saying the “leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities”.
He insisted the war could end if Hamas returned hostages, laid down its arms, agreed for its leaders to go into exile and Gaza was demilitarised. “No nation can be expected to accept anything less and Israel certainly won’t,” he said.
Netanyahu – who is sought under an International criminal Court warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he has dismissed as “antisemitic” – had been under heavy international pressure to end the blockade of Gaza after a respected international survey warned of imminent famine.
At the London summit between the EU and the UK the President of the European Council, António Costa, called the humanitarian crisis in Gaza “a tragedy where international law is being systematically violated, and an entire population is being subjected to disproportionate military force”.
“There must be safe, swift and unimpeded access for humanitarian aid,” he said.