Wednesday Briefing: Israel’s Allies Tell It to Stop

Northern Gaza, yesterday.Credit…Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Major allies sent Israel a sharp warning

Britain said yesterday that it was suspending trade talks with Israel over its plan to escalate the war in Gaza and its blockade of humanitarian aid to Palestinians already at risk of famine. On Monday, Britain, France and Canada demanded that Israel stop this “wholly disproportionate” escalation.

Their appeal amounted to the sharpest condemnation yet from some of Israel’s most powerful supporters since the war began 19 months ago. The message made clear that Israel’s conduct of the war, the high death toll and the abysmal humanitarian conditions were pushing the allies to the limits of what they would tolerate.

“If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response,” Britain, France and Canada warned in a joint statement.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, responded by saying that the three countries had handed Hamas “a huge prize,” and accused them of encouraging a repeat of the Oct. 7 attacks that started the war.

Waning U.S. support? The U.S., Israel’s most powerful işveren, has not publicly criticized the renewed Israeli offensive. But President Trump has increasingly bypassed Netanyahu, and he skipped Israel on his trip to the Middle East last week.

Warning about aid: A senior U.N. humanitarian official, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC yesterday that 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours unless truckloads of aid could enter.