The international community is on the verge of a peace deal for Gaza as it faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, the UK’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has revealed.
Ms Cooper’s comments follow her address at the UN General Assembly in New York earlier this week, where she accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of allowing children in Gaza to die of starvation.
Mr Netanyahu faced a mass walkout at the meeting of world leaders and diplomats as he insisted Israel must “finish the job” trying to eliminate Hamas.
The British foreign secretary has now warned that the “Israeli government urgently needs to change its course” as the world “wants to end this war”.
“I feel like there is a consensus, a real, huge consensus building, and there was real energy and determination [at the UN] around peace. I think we’ve reached a moment where the world wants to end this war,” she told The Guardian.
“There is no military solution to this that works, there is no way that the security of Israel is remotely strengthened by this further Gaza City offensive,” she continued.
“For security for Israelis, as well as security for Palestinians and as well as dealing with this devastating humanitarian crisis, I think the Israeli government urgently needs to change course.”
It follows US President Donald Trump’s statement on Friday, when he told reporters it was “looking like we have a deal on Gaza”.
Speaking about the ongoing humanitarian crisis, she admitted that words “feel hollow” in the face of the suffering endured by Palestinians.
“Every time we talk about whether it’s humanitarian crisis or whatever words that we use actually feel hollow, because what it’s really about is the screams and pain of a toddler, and that’s what’s really at the heart of this, and that’s what has to end. The war has to be brought to an end,” she said.
“I think the reason that there is just such a sense of distress is because everybody can see the horror of what has happened and the fact that it feels like nothing’s being done. It feels like nothing is changing. It feels like everything is just getting worse.
“The challenge for us now is that there is a moment, and we have to make sure that that moment, through international action, is turned into a peace process.”
Earlier this week, reports emerged that former prime minister Tony Blair could helm a Gaza transitional body to oversee the reconstruction and governance of the Strip, with support from the US. The move to take a leadership role in the Middle East would prove controversial after the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which took place under his leadership.
“Tony Blair has been one of the people adding proposals to this process, and that’s been really important, but there have been lots of other processes as well,” Ms Cooper said.
“There’s still a huge amount of work to do. At this stage, there’s a sense of consensus building but we’ve got to keep that on track.”
She added: “We can’t pretend this isn’t incredibly hard, and how long the crisis has been going on makes it challenging. But there was no doubt that there is a real sense of determination and energy behind trying to get an end to the war and to try and get not just an immediate ceasefire, but a proper plan for the future.”
The Independent has contacted Ms Cooper for comment.
Over 68,000 people have been killed, mostly civilians including over 20,000 children since Israel’s military campaign in the Strip. Israel has faced condemnation from rights groups and the international community with the United Nations concluding it is committing a genocide after a two-year investigation. Israel has called the claims “false” and “distorted”.
Almost 1,200 people were killed when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October and took 251 people hostage.
