The UK has called for renewed momentum in implementing the Comprehensive Peace Plan for Gaza, warning that progress risks stalling eight months after the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2803. Ambassador Kate Foster, UK Chargé d’Affaires to the UN, outlined three priorities to reinvigorate the plan, beginning with improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Ambassador Foster noted that while progress has averted the levels of famine seen last year, 1.2 million people still face significant food shortages, and 90% of the population is projected to remain dependent on humanitarian aid. She urged Israel to ensure unimpeded humanitarian access, including opening more crossings and streamlining approvals for essential items. Concerns were also raised about reports of Hamas obstructing humanitarian operations, including a recent incident at a World Food Programme distribution centre.
Secondly, the UK called for renewed momentum on security, governance, and recovery in Gaza, reiterating that Hamas must decommission its weapons and dismantle its infrastructure. The UK announced over 13 million dollars for the UN Horizon Fund as part of the Team Gaza Initiative. Thirdly, the UK expressed deep alarm over the trajectory in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, condemning violence on 24 July that killed four Palestinians and two Israelis. The UK also highlighted a mass incursion at the Haram al Sharif Temple Mount on 23 July and reports of an Israeli forces incursion at an UNRWA training centre near Kalandia refugee camp.