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UK Middle East Minister Lord Ahmad will visit the UAE on Monday for talks about building a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.
The minister will travel to Abu Dhabi, where he is expected to meet Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, to discuss the conflict and the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.
He will also look to build momentum on the UK initiative for an international ‘Contact Group’ for long-term peace and stability in the region.
Speaking ahead of the trip, he said: “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is desperate and there is an urgent need for an immediate pause to get life-saving aid in and hostages out.
“The UK remains firmly committed to working with our key partners – like the UAE – to secure an immediate pause in fighting, make progress towards a sustainable ceasefire, and build momentum towards a long-term political solution to the crisis.”
Lord Ahmad will also meet Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation and Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the President, former minister of state for foreign affairs.
The visit follows a tour last month, which saw the Foreign Secretary visit Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Turkey, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon to discuss the conflict and regional security.
Speaking recently to Arab ambassadors in London, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron called for the establishment of a diplomatic campaign by “all the friends of a Palestinian state”.
“We with allies will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state including at the United Nations,” Lord Cameron said at the reception. “This could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible.”
First 100 days of Israel Gaza war – in pictures
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Palestinian Muhammad Al Durra with his children in the ruins of a house in Rafah where they sheltered on January 11, 2024. EPA -
Family and friends at the funerals of journalists Hamza Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya on January 7, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images -
Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a mortuary in Khan Younis January 4, 2024. AP Photo -
Displaced Palestinians queue to bake bread at a camp in the Muwasi area of Rafah, Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians queue for food in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, on December 20, 2023. AP Photo -
The ruins of Rafah on December 14, 2023. AFP -
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on December 8, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians flee Israeli bombing along the Salaheddine Road in the Zeitoun district of Gaza city on November 28, 2023. AFP -
A Red Cross vehicle takes Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt in Rafah on November 25, 2023. AP -
The ruins of buildings in Gaza city on November 24, 2023, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. AP Photo -
A woman and her cat return home to eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas forces on November 24, 2023. AFP -
Mourning the dead of Israeli bombardment outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on November 14, 2023. AFP -
Civilians and rescuers look for survivors in the rubble of a building after Israeli bombing of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023. AFP -
November 7, 2023, a month to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, a victim of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah is moved from the rubble. AFP -
Searching the rubble after Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2023. AP Photo -
Mourning the Kotz family at their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. AP Photo -
An Israeli firefighter composes himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians with the wreckage of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of the city of Khan Younis on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas forces swept unopposed into Israel. AP Photo -
Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. AP Photo
It comes after UK and the US have carried out the latest in a series of strikes on Houthi sites in Yemen after the Iran-backed rebel group began attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea, a vital global trade route.
A joint statement confirmed that 35 targets had been hit in 13 different locations on Saturday.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said that the action would “send a clear message to Houthis” to stop attacks against shipping in the Red Sea.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the fresh assaults were “not an escalation”.
“The Houthis' attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea are illegal and unacceptable and it is our duty to protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation,” he said.
“That is why the Royal Air Force engaged in a third wave of proportionate and targeted strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen.
“We acted alongside our US allies, with the support of many international partners, in self-defence and in accordance with international law.
“This is not an escalation. We have already successfully targeted launchers and storage sites involved in Houthi attacks, and I am confident that our latest strikes have further degraded the Houthis' capabilities.”
