UK foreign minister says worried Israel may have breached international law in Gaza

Britain’s foreign minister David Cameron said on Tuesday he was worried that Israel might have breached international law in Gaza, and that the advice he had received so far was that Israel was compliant but there were questions to answer.

Asked during a question-and-answer session with lawmakers if Israel could be vulnerable to a challenge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague over whether their actions were proportionate, Cameron said the stance was “close to that.”

Britain has backed Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas attacks but also called on its military to show restraint and act within international law in its offensive in Gaza that has laid waste to much of the Palestinian enclave.

Cameron did not directly answer lawmakers about whether he had received legal advice that Israel might have broken international law, but said some incidents had raised questions over whether there had been breaches.

“Am I worried that Israel has taken action that might be in breach of international law, because this particular premises has been bombed, or whatever? Yes, of course,” Cameron said as he took questions from parliament’s foreign affairs committee.

Cameron said that there was always a “question mark” over whether a given incident broke international law, which lawyers would examine and then advise him over.

“The advice has been so far, that they (Israel) have the commitment, the capability and the compliance (with international law), but on lots of occasions that is under question.”

Amid growing international concern over the huge Palestinian death toll from the Israeli assault, as well as a deepening humanitarian crisis, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday urged Israeli leaders to do more to avoid further harm to non-combatants and to protect civilian infrastructure.