Thousands of Palestinian supporters are expected to converge on Downing Street on Saturday as diplomatic efforts intensify to allow access for humanitarian aid to Gaza and secure the release of hostages.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced following his meetings with Middle East leaders that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza should be reopening “imminently” and he had discussed how the UK could offer support “on the ground” to get aid into the besieged territory.
Late on Friday it was confirmed by Israel that Hamas had freed an American woman and her teenage daughter who had been held hostage in the Gaza Strip – the first such release from among around 200 people the militant group abducted during its October 7 rampage through southern Israel.
Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie are out of the Gaza Strip and in the hands of the Israeli military, an army spokesman said.
Hamas said it had released them for humanitarian reasons in an agreement with the Qatari government.
The Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) has said it expects 200,000 people to join what it claims will be the “biggest march for Palestinian rights in British history” on Saturday.
PSC director Ben Jamal said: “They will be calling for an end to violence, to all attacks on civilians, and for our Government to end its complicity with the root causes of the violence – Israel’s system of military occupation, colonisation and apartheid.”
Speakers at the rally in Downing Street will include Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan, NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede, FBU general secretary Matt Wrack, UCU general secretary Jo Grady and RMT senior assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey.
Meanwhile, a 31-year-old man has been bailed by the Metropolitan Police after being arrested on suspicion of supporting Hamas at another demonstration in Whitehall earlier this week by displaying a banner supportive of a proscribed organisation.
A force spokesman said: “As part of the investigation, being led by the Met’s Counter-Terrorism Command, officers conducted searches at addresses in east London and in County Durham.”
Speaking to broadcasters before returning to the UK, the Prime Minister said that getting aid trucks into Gaza was the “immediate priority” after meeting President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Egypt.
Earlier he stated he had agreed with the Amir of Qatar, who he met in Saudi Arabia, that world leaders must do “everything possible to prevent” the violence in Israel and Gaza from spilling over into a wider Middle East conflict.
Mr Sunak told broadcasters: “When this crisis unfolded, one thing we have prioritised consistently is getting the Rafah crossing opening.
“It’s been a feature of all my conversations, and I’m very pleased that that will now imminently happen.”
He said: “This is a region in mourning so first and foremost, I wanted to express my condolences to all those affected, we’ve also made good progress on tangible areas like ensuring access for humanitarian aid to those who need it.
“But most importantly, in a situation like this, it’s important to intensify dialogue, because we all have a shared interest in peace and stability in this region.”
He added: “When I met with President El-Sisi earlier today, he and I had a good discussion about how the UK can provide practical assistance on the ground to ensure the sustainability of that aid through the crossing to the people who need it.
“The immediate priority right now though is to get humanitarian aid to the people who need it in Gaza.
“That’s why we’ve increased our funding and are providing practical support on the ground in cooperation with others to do that and longer term, we all share a vision of a future where Palestinian people can live with dignity, with freedom and security, and we need to work hard to make that happen.”
It comes after Israel’s troops were told to prepare for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which remains under heavy bombardment as Tel Aviv fights back against Hamas’s incursion on October 7 that killed 1,400 people.
Israel has stated it does not intend to reoccupy the territory if it does topple Hamas in Gaza.
Speaking to legislators, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant laid out a three-stage plan starting with air strikes, followed by a ground attack to root out Hamas, and then the “removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip”.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has also been in the region, visiting Egypt, Qatar and Turkey with a mission to “secure the release of British hostages, stop the violence spreading to the region (and) ensure emergency aid can get into Gaza”.
Nine British nationals are confirmed to have been killed in the Hamas raids on October 7 and a further seven are missing, with some “feared to be among the dead or kidnapped”, Downing Street said.
The Gaza Health Ministry said 4,137 people have been killed in the territory while Israel said more than 1,400 people in the country have been killed with 203 people being taken hostage into Gaza.
