UK's Middle East minister says Israel blocking aid vital to Gaza ceasefire plan

Israel’s refusal to open up more humanitarian routes to allow aid into Gaza is holding back US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal, Britain’s Middle East minister has said.

Hamish Falconer said the failure to open crossings, including those from Jordan into the Israeli-occupied West Bank, means the plan cannot move on from phase one.

“More still needs to be done," he replied when asked by The National if Israel was doing enough to help ensure aid reaches the Palestinians. "We're clear that the crossings, which were clearly envisaged to be opened under the 20-point plan, remain unopened. That is a vital part of phase one [of the ceasefire deal] and we need to see progress on that immediately."

In a wide-ranging interview on the Middle East, he also raised the possibility that Houthi rebel group in Yemen could be smuggling high-grade weapons into Sudan and expressed frustration over the lack of progress with talks on Iran's nuclear programme.

Intransigent Israel

Following Britain's condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza, relations between the two countries are at a low point. Mr Falconer accused Israel of “an overly restrictive approach to aid”, saying that would "prevent the necessary materials getting in at the speed required”.

He welcomed a recent delivery of tents from the UK government, which can provide shelter for 12,000 people, and recognised that lorry deliveries were “considerably up”. However, he said there was “much more that needs to be done”, particularly as the crossings at Rafah and Allenby Bridge remain closed, as do other border points.

“It is vital that we get all the aid in,” he said. “The commitment in the 20-point plan was absolutely clear on how that needs to be done.”

While relations with Israel are frosty, Mr Falconer said dialogue was continuing and that he had also “discussed these issues intensively” with his counterpart Lana Nusseibeh, UAE Minister of State.

The British government has also announced it will match “pound for pound” new donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee's Middle East appeal over the winter and give an extra £3 million ($4 million) to charities helping people in Gaza.

UK Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, with Lana Nusseibeh, UAE Minister of State. Photo: Hamish Falconer / X

Houthi arms

Asked about links between the Houthis in Yemen and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), he raised the importance of support for the Yemeni Coast Guard. He visited the coastguard during a trip last month and was shown significant caches of weapons that had been seized.

It is believed weapons have been exchanged across the Red Sea by the SAF and Houthis, although Mr Falconer would not be drawn on where the seized arms were thought to be heading.

“That high-tech equipment, that could be used very much for military purposes, I can't tell you to whom it was intended to be delivered, but there clearly is a very significant problem in the area of advanced weaponry travelling across the Red Sea,” he said.

Britain has spent £3 million helping to refurbish coastguard ships including the Aden, the long-range patrol vessel that was used in the seizure of the weapons. Mr Falconer, who was formerly a senior Foreign Office official, said he was also “very concerned” about Yemen’s food security situation, having seen “the state of malnutrition in the very small babies” in a refugee camp.

He called on the Houthis to “stop disrupting that aid operation” and to a