UK's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly speculated that Hamas gave no indication that it "desires or would abide by calls for a ceasefire" as encouraged by pro-Palestine protesters over the past week.
British media reported that Westminster's top diplomat urged pro-Palestinian supporters demonstrating on British streets over the weekend to be "conscious of disinformation and manipulation" following reports Iran was attempting to use the rallies to sow division.
Cleverly's statement came as the Israel Defense Force (IDF) confirmed its military operation in Gaza has entered a second phase three weeks after Hamas's raids over southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,400 Israeli and foreign civilians.
"[C]alls for a ceasefire in the abstract aren't going to help the situation," he said.
UK Also Calls for Humanitarian Pauses
The Conservative Party-led British government has been pushing for what it called "humanitarian pauses" to allow more aid into Gaza compared to its first few aid supply runs, as well as to allow people, including foreigners, to escape the strip via the Rafah border crossing.
The government's proposition has been backed by Opposition Leader Sir Keir Starmer despite some pushback from several members of the Labour Party, including some of Starmer's shadow ministers, former leader and staunch Palestine supporter Jeremy Corbyn, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
"We have consistently sought to bring about pauses to facilitate the inward passage of humanitarian aid that we are providing and the release of hostages and the evacuation of British nationals in Gaza, so that has been our position from the start," Cleverly added. "Of course, we want to see this resolved, we want to see Israel safe, peaceful, and secure."
Cleverly further emphasized that, while the UK and Israel are conversing about how to minimize civilian casualties as much as possible, Israel has the right to defend itself.
Read Also: Israel Expands Ground Operation in Gaza, Military Officials Say
Cleverly to Protesters: Talks of Ceasefire May Encourage Iran to Escalate War
Meanwhile, Cleverly also cautioned pro-Palestinian protesters, citing counter-terrorism officials told The Times that Iran was attempting to heighten tensions at rallies over Israel's bombing of Gaza through a campaign of online disinformation and Tehran operatives embedding themselves at protests.
Iran was reportedly backing Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon for quite some time.
When asked about suggestions that Iran could be attempting to create unrest in the UK, Cleverly said there had "often been attempts to subvert the actions of other people."
"It is perfectly possible to support the Palestinian people but also to condemn Hamas," he added. "But, sadly, we do see people being manipulated, subject to disinformation, distortion, and sadly I do think a minority - a small minority - within those protests have got very much more negative aims."
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