The killing of seven aid workers in Gaza was a “turning point” for Israel’s international reputation and Britain should reconsider whether the country is an “ally”, a former Conservative foreign minister has said.

Sir Alan Duncan, a Conservative minister between 2010 and 2019, strongly condemned Israel’s killing of seven aid workers, three of whom were British, as “callous”.

He said the country had now “lost the support of the world” because of its “deceit and callousness”.

write a tough article independentSir Allen said: “By annexing the West Bank, violating international law and now seeming to destroy Gaza as a place fit for human existence, it betrays the enlightened principles of its founders and is not in any way a democracy.

“We should honor our aid heroes by committing to ensuring the security of a Palestinian state. At the same time, all responsible governments must urgently assess whether Israel can no longer be considered an ally.”

Sir Alan’s intervention came amid unanimous condemnation from world leaders outraged by the killings.

Rishi Sunak has warned Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s war in Gaza is becoming “increasingly intolerable”. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said attacks on aid workers were “absolutely unacceptable” and called for “full accountability.”

US President Joe Biden said he was “angry and heartbroken” by the killings and accused Israel of not doing enough to protect Palestinian civilians.

“The United States has repeatedly urged Israel to conflict its military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations to avoid civilian casualties,” Biden said.

talking sunMr Sunak added: “I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and made clear to him that the situation is increasingly intolerable and what we urgently need to see is complete transparency about what is happening. investigation, but the amount of aid coming into Gaza.”

Israel’s top military officer has apologized for a “serious mistake” after seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers were killed.

British victims John Chapman, 57, James “Jim” Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, all WCK Member of the security team.

They were joined by Jacob Flickinger, a 33-year-old dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, and Australian national Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom, a 43-year-old rescue team. Captain), Polish national Damian Sobol, 35, and Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, 25, died together.

inside independent In the article, Sir Allen reaffirmed Israel’s right to exist and condemned the rise in anti-Semitism following the Hamas terror attack on 7 October.

But he added, citing figures from Hamas’ health ministry: “As the death toll in Gaza rises from 1,000 to 10,000 to 30,000, the justifications provided by Israel for this excess feel increasingly unconvincing.

“Because of their deceit and callousness, Israel has now lost the support of the world. No one believes their claims anymore.”

He highlighted the “obscenity” of Britain having to build a pontoon bridge to deliver aid to Gaza to tackle the famine caused by Israel. He also joined growing calls for Britain to suspend arms exports to Israel.

Sir Allen said that even before the atrocities on October 7, Mr Netanyahu had begun “an assault on freedom and justice in his own country”, while the IDF oversaw “an increasing number of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank” increasingly violent settler activity”.

“Even so, the fact is that the IDF’s claims of compliance with international law have been weak throughout the decades of occupation,” he said.

Sunak called Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night to say “too many aid workers and ordinary civilians are losing their lives in Gaza”.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Israel Defense Forces attacked the aid convoy because officials believed an armed Hamas member was traveling with the convoy, but no such person was actually traveling with the aid workers.

An Israeli military source told the media that the attack was not a problem of poor coordination, but because “each commander made his own rules.”

The charity had just unloaded 100 tons of food aid on a barge from Cyprus when Israel attacked their convoy on the Gaza coastal road in Deir al-Balah. WCK said on Tuesday it was suspending all work in the occupied Palestinian territories.

WCK said its convoy of three vehicles was attacked despite the charity coordinating its operations with the Israeli military, and that two of the vehicles attacked were clearly marked as aid vehicles.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on Israel to “immediately investigate”, adding that the government wanted “a full and transparent explanation of what happened”.