British ambassador to Israel: 'We do not call for a ceasefire – the mission to eliminate Hamas has not ended'
Simon Walters states in a special interview with KAN News that the UK is helping Israel to locate the hostages through reconnaissance flights
Simon Walters, the British ambassador to Israel, stated in a special interview with KAN News that the United Kingdom does not discuss deadlines for the war in Gaza in terms of weeks or months: “We don’t use that term. We say the sooner the war ends, the better, but we are not calling for a ceasefire because we know the mission to eliminate Hamas has not been completed yet.”
This was aired today (Thursday) in the program “This Morning” with Dov Gil-Har on the KAN Reshet B channel.
At the same time, Walters emphasized the need to minimize harm to the civilian population: “We need to reduce the harm and suffering of the civilians. Currently, the residents of Gaza do not have enough food and water, therefore we need to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
The ambassador referred to a number of British citizens missing since Oct. 7, and spoke for the first time about Britain's use of UAVs to help find the hostages: “We are working with the Israelis to locate them. We are flying reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip to gather information and pass the intelligence to the Israelis.”
Regarding the attacks by Houthi rebels on civilian ships, the ambassador said discussions are currently underway to find a solution: “The ultimate test will be whether the crews and ships feel safe. We must ensure that this happens. And we are in discussions about how to enable this, especially when it comes to such an important shipping route.”
Amichai Stein is a political correspondent for KAN 11.
