UK will not suspend arms exports to Israel, David Cameron says

But Lord Cameron said ministers had “grave concerns” about humanitarian access in Gaza as he urged Israel to turn its commitments on aid “into reality” at a joint press conference with his US counterpart, Antony Blinken.

Downing Street has come under mounting pressure from senior Tories to suspend weapons exports in light of the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and after the deaths of three Britons in the strike on aid group World Central Kitchen.

The former prime minister said the Israel-Hamas conflict was a “different situation” from when the UK published a summary of legal advice before taking military action in Libya, or more recently in the Red Sea.

During his visit to Washington, which followed dinner with Donald Trump at the ex-president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Cameron told reporters: “I have now reviewed the most recent advice about the situation in Gaza and Israel’s conduct of their military campaign.

The UK’s arms exports regime would prevent the supply of weapons to Israel if there was a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

Cameron refused to be drawn on the details of his discussion with Trump after making a surprise visit to the presumptive Republican presidential candidate’s Florida resort, saying only that it covered a “range of important geopolitical subjects”.