In a statement published by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office after a UN Security Council meeting on 18 June 2026, Ambassador James Kariuki set out the UK's latest position on Gaza as a question of implementation rather than new diplomacy. The speech linked current priorities to Security Council resolution 2803, adopted in November 2025, which the UK said endorsed President Trump's Comprehensive Plan to end the conflict. (gov.uk) The intervention followed briefings from USG Fletcher and Ms Khalidi, which the UK said showed some progress on humanitarian conditions and the return of hostages, but not delivery of the wider plan. On that basis, the statement set out three immediate priorities: humanitarian access in Gaza, security and political transition arrangements, and stability in the West Bank. (gov.uk)
The first priority was humanitarian access. The UK said the situation in Gaza remained dire, with reported ceasefire violations killing more than 1,000 Palestinians since October. It also pointed to repeated displacement, unsanitary conditions and inadequate access to medical care, which it said were leaving children and families exposed to disease and severe malnutrition. (gov.uk) The policy criticism was directed at Israeli restrictions on aid entry. According to the statement, Israel continues to apply 'dual use' controls that block essential items and is limiting aid delivery to a single crossing, creating congestion and delay. The speech presented this not as a logistical shortfall alone, but as a failure to meet obligations within the ceasefire framework and under international law. (gov.uk)
The statement pointed back to resolution 2803, which the UK said requires the immediate full resumption of humanitarian aid, including the rehabilitation of civilian infrastructure. It also cited the January 2025 ceasefire as evidence that materially higher volumes of aid can be delivered when access is permitted and political decisions support that outcome. (gov.uk) The British request was direct. Israel should remove what the statement called unjustifiable restrictions on humanitarian access, while the UN, including UNRWA, and international NGOs should be able to operate safely and at scale. In the FCDO account, humanitarian delivery was treated as a standing legal duty rather than a bargaining point. (gov.uk)
The second priority concerned security arrangements and political transition in Gaza. The UK said Hamas must meet its commitments under the Comprehensive Plan by decommissioning its weapons and dismantling military and terrorist infrastructure. It backed a phased and verified process, alongside the deployment of an international stabilisation force, training for a Palestinian police force and a sequenced IDF withdrawal. (gov.uk) That formulation matters because it places the UK behind a managed transition model rather than a narrow ceasefire alone. The speech tied disarmament, external verification, policing capacity and military withdrawal into a single framework for post-conflict administration. (gov.uk)
At the same time, the UK drew a clear legal distinction between humanitarian relief and disarmament. The statement said Israel's obligation to facilitate aid access is not conditional on Hamas disarming, and that humanitarian assistance must never be used as a political lever. (gov.uk) That separation is central to the UK's framing at the Council. In the statement, security arrangements were presented as subject to sequencing and verification, but civilian relief was described as immediately required under international humanitarian law. (gov.uk)
The third priority shifted to the West Bank, which the UK described as essential to any lasting peace. The statement said violence against civilians was increasing at unprecedented levels and cited footage of Israeli forces killing a seven-month-old baby in Hebron on 5 June. It called on Israel to ensure accountability for those responsible. (gov.uk) The speech also linked continued displacement and the withholding of more than $5 billion in Palestinian Authority revenues to the weakening of the wider peace plan. In policy terms, the UK presented civilian protection, fiscal transfers and territorial stability as part of the same diplomatic file, rather than as separate tracks. (gov.uk)
The closing section of the statement signalled continued UK support for multilateral diplomacy. The UK said that, earlier in June 2026, it had joined Australia and Canada in announcing a new International Peace Fund for Israel and Palestine to support renewed progress. (gov.uk) The final position remained anchored in peaceful coexistence between two sovereign and secure states. Taken as a whole, the speech set out a concise hierarchy of UK priorities: restore humanitarian access immediately, keep legal duties separate from disarmament talks, and prevent further deterioration in the West Bank from undermining the ceasefire framework. (gov.uk)