RISHI Sunak today paid tribute to the three “brave Brits” killed in Gaza – calling their deaths an “awful, awful tragedy”.
The PM also demanded a massive increase in the amount of aid as he warned of the “increasingly intolerable” situation.
He made his first comments about the deaths of three British nationals on The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots, set to air at 7pm tonight.
Three veterans – former Special Boat Service hero John Chapman, 57, ex-Royal Marine James Henderson, 33, and Army veteran James Kirby – were killed by an Israeli air strikes while delivering vital aid.
Mr Sunak told The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole: “It’s an awful, awful tragedy.
“To think these were brave Brits who were risking their lives to bring aid to people in need in Gaza… to have lost their lives in these circumstances is a tragedy. My thoughts obviously are with their families.”
He ramped up calls on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for a “transparent independent investigation” into their deaths.
“I spoke to Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and I was very clear with him that the situation is increasingly intolerable and what we urgently need to see is a thorough, transparent investigation into what happened.
“But also a dramatic increase in the amount of aid getting into Gaza, removing the barriers.
“Also, closer work with aid agencies so that things like this don’t happen again.”
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And while Britain supported “Israel’s right” to flush out Hamas terrorists, he demanded that more aid be allowed into Gaza.
Pressure has grown on the government recently to suspend export licences for arms sales to Israel.
Pressed on the issue, Mr Sunak said all such licences are kept under “careful” review but stopped short of a hard pledge to revoke them.
Mr Sunak said: “We’ve always had a very careful export licensing regime that we adhere to. There are a set of rules regulations and procedures that we’ll always follow.
“And I’ve been consistently clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu since the start of this conflict that whilst of course we defend Israel’s right to defend itself and it’s people against attacks from Hamas, they have to do that in accordance with humanitarian law, protect civilian lives, get more aid into Gaza.
“What we want to see is an immediate humanitarian pause to allow more aid in and crucially for more hostages to also be released – and that’s what we’ll continue to push for.
“What’s happened is a tragedy, and it shouldn’t have happened and there are questions that need answering and that’s why I’ve been very clear that what we expect is a thorough, transparent investigation into what has happened.
“Also I want to see a dramatic increase in the amount of aid flowing into Gaza and closer work with the aid agencies so these types of things just do not happen.”
Israel issues grovelling apology for killing 3 Brits
ISRAEL'S highest-ranking officer has apologised after his forces killed seven aid workers including three Brits in a huge war blunder.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi insisted the bombing of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) workers was a “grave mistake” – adding it was the result of “misidentification”.
Halevi insisted: “Israel is at war with Hamas, not the people of Gaza.”
Halevi said the strike happened in “complex conditions” – but offered no further insight.
He said: “This incident was a grave mistake.
“I want to be very clear – the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers.
He added: “We will continue taking immediate actions to ensure that more is done to protect humanitarian aid workers.”
Along with three Brits killed, the other victims were Polish, Australian, a Palestinian driver and a dual US-Canadian citizen.
They were in a deconflicted zone and had informed the IDF of their movements so should have been safe.
But shortly after setting off from an aid warehouse in the Gaza city of Deir al-Balah, they were hit on the coastal Al Rashid road.
Israeli media said an IDF unit believed they had seen an armed figure entering the warehouse.
Suspecting Hamas terrorists were using the convoy as cover, they fired on the WCK cars — two armoured and one soft-skin vehicle.
One of the victims of the strike, dad-of-two John Chapman, was last night described as a “very popular bloke”.
The Special Forces hero, from Poole, had been in Gaza only a few weeks after stints in the Middle East.
A former comrade paid tribute yesterday, saying: “He was a very well-liked guy, a very popular bloke and this is a huge loss for his family, his friends and for the veteran community.
“People trying to deliver aid into Gaza are doing the right thing and they need support and protection from people like John and his colleagues to do their job.”
A friend of Mr Henderson, of Truro, Cornwall, said: “Everybody is gutted, he was a lovely lad. He’d been there a few weeks.”
The three Brits worked for security firm Solace Global and were delivering food for US-based aid agency WCK.
The charity has worked worldwide, including in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in 2022.
It has been active in Gaza since Israel declared war on Hamas after the terror group slaughtered more than 1,110 people on October 7.
WCK says it has served around 240,000 meals a day — a total of 42 million — and have been central in establishing a maritime aid corridor between Cyprus and Gaza.
The hostilities have meant aid has struggled to reach Palestinians by land, so WCK and Cypriot authorities last month established the first aid delivery by sea.
A second convoy of three ships carrying 400 tons of aid landed on Monday, with the IDF involved in coordinating the delivery.
The WCK vehicles were in the process of transporting that aid to 1.7 million Palestinians forced from their homes by war.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society recovered the bodies of the aid workers and transported them to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
It came as Israel’s highest-ranking officer apologised after his forces killed seven aid workers that included the Brits.
Herzi Halevi insisted the bombing of the World Central Kitchen volunteers was a “grave mistake” – adding it was the result of “misidentification”.
Aid workers from the charity were delivering aid in Gaza on Monday when their three-car convoy was “unintentionally” hit by Israeli drone missiles.
Mr Netanyahu yesterday admitted carrying out the deadly air strike – adding “this happens in war”.
Now IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has apologised and said the bombing “shouldn’t have happened”.
He insisted: “Israel is at war with Hamas, not the people of Gaza.”
Halevi said the strike happened in “complex conditions” – but offered no further insight.
He said: “This incident was a grave mistake.
“I want to be very clear – the strike was not carried out with the intention of harming WCK aid workers.
TRAGIC SITUATION IN GAZA
Palestinian civilians have been left fleeing for their lives as Israel attempts to destroy Hamas after the terror group massacred 1,200 civilians on October 7.
It was one of the worst terrorist attacks in history – and shocked the world with the disturbing levels of brutality used against men, women, children and even babies.
And dozens of people snatched on that day remain as hostages – or missing – after being kidnapped and taken into Gaza.
Families living in the 25-mile long strip have been caught in the brutal crossfire, with regular accusations that the terrorists are attempting to use them as “human shields”.
Much of Gaza have been turned into a devastated warzone – with ruined buildings, dwindling supplies and horrific suffering for Gaza’s people.
The Red Cross estimate some 1.5million people are currently hunkering down in Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip near the border with Egypt.
Israel believes Hamas leaders may be hiding in Rafah – but are facing growing international pressure not to launch a military operation with so many displaced people trapped there.
The UK has said it is “deeply concerned” about the loss of life in Gaza, and US President Joe Biden has warned it would be a “mistake” to attack Rafah.
Figures for the death toll remain unverified – but Hamas’ health officials have claimed 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7.
Israel disputes these figures – but has admitted accidentally killing civilians in Gaza.
But the military and Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have often said the deaths must be blamed on Hamas – not Israel.
With the ongoing horror nearly six months on, there have been growing international calls for a humanitarian ceasefire to stop the bloodshed.
