Banning arms exports to Israel would help Hamas, warns David Cameron

Foreign secretary argues against Rafah offensive but says real pressure should be on Hamas to accept ceasefire deal

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David Cameron warned on Sunday that banning arms exports to Israel would help Hamas, but the British foreign secretary continued to argue against a major offensive into Gaza’s southernmost town of Rafah. He declined to set out any consequence for Israel if the advice from the US and UK was not heeded.

The Labour party set up a rare dividing line with the government on Gaza, saying that the UK should stop sending arms to Israel if it went ahead with a Rafah offensive, due to the risk of a breach of international humanitarian law. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, told Sky News that the UK should pause arms sales to Israel, and said a full-scale offensive into Rafah would be “catastrophic beyond description”.