The UK has suspended negotiations with Israel on a new free trade agreement.
This was stated by British Foreign Secretary David Lemmy, the BBC reports.
Israelʼs ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely was summoned to the Foreign Office, where she was told that Israelʼs blocking of humanitarian aid to Gaza was "unacceptable".
Lemmy said the conflict was "entering a new dark phase" and called it "disgusting" that fewer than 10 aid trucks were allowed into Gaza yesterday.
He also stated that the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "damaging the image of the State of Israel in the eyes of the world community".
Israelʼs war in the Gaza Strip
Active hostilities between Israel and Hamas have continued since October 7, 2023, when militants of the Islamist group launched a massive rocket attack on southern and central Israel, invaded the countryʼs territory, killed hundreds of civilians, and took hostages.
In mid-January 2025, Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. In the first phase of the agreement, Hamas pledged to release 33 Israeli hostages, while Israel pledged to release more than 1900 Palestinian prisoners and begin withdrawing troops from the Gaza Strip. On March 2, Israel agreed to temporarily extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a transitional period after the end of the first phase, as the parties have not yet been able to agree on how to proceed.
On the night of March 18, Israel resumed hostilities in the Gaza Strip after a two-month ceasefire. The strikes killed the de facto prime minister of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip Isaam Daalis and four other senior Hamas officials.
Israel has placed responsibility for the resumption of hostilities on Hamas — the militants allegedly rejected all proposals to extend the ceasefire. Therefore, any further negotiations with Hamas, if they are held at all, will only be "under fire" — that is, Israel refuses a ceasefire as a condition for starting new negotiations.
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