UK to deploy Royal Navy to deliver food, supplies to Gaza Strip

The UK will deploy a Royal Navy ship to increase its humanitarian support to Gaza, days after an Israeli military strike killed three British aid workers.

The vessel, along with £9.7 million ($12 million) of pledged spending, will support the ongoing effort to set up a maritime corridor from Cyprus to Gaza, which is expected to be operational in early May. The allocated funds will go toward aid deliveries, logistical expertise and equipment such as forklift trucks and storage units, according to a statement late Saturday.

In the six months since Hamas militants attacked Israel, parts of Gaza have been bombed to rubble. The United Nations estimates that at least 75 per cent of the population has been displaced and more than half a million people are on the brink of famine. At least 31,000 Palestinians have died, according to the health ministry, which is run by Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union.

The increased aid comes days after an Israeli army missile strike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, including three British nationals. The army dismissed two officers after the attacks, attributing the strike to “mistaken identification, errors in decision making, and an attack contrary to standard operating procedures.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is coming under mounting pressure to halt the sale of British arms to Israel. Three former supreme court justices said that the UK is breaching international law by providing weapons to Israel, while some Conservative politicians suggested they would also support suspending defense exports.

Sunak, who has adopted a tougher tone toward the UK ally in recent months, renewed calls on Saturday for an end to the conflict and a release of the hostages. Hamas kidnapped more than 200 people in southern Israel in the Oct 7 attack and killed more than 1,200.

“The children of Gaza need a humanitarian pause immediately, leading to a long-term sustainable cease-fire,” Sunak said. “That is the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in and to stop the fighting and loss of life.”

The UK continues to “stand by Israel’s right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists and defend their security,” Sunak said, but “the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed, and appalled by the killing of brave British heroes who were bringing food to those in need.”