Israel “might have taken action” in breach of international law in Gaza, the foreign secretary has said during a tense exchange with MPs on the conflict in the Middle East.
Lord Cameron also confirmed two British nationals are still being held hostage by Hamas, as he made his first appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee since his controversial return to cabinet.
The former prime minister was given a peerage in order to take the government post and because he is not an MP, and therefore does not speak in the House of Commons, the committee appearance is the first chance MPs have had to scrutinise his new role.
He was pressed repeatedly on whether he has received advice from government lawyers saying Israel is in any way in breach of international law, or if he has any grounds to believe they are.
The foreign secretary said he “cannot recall every single bit of paper that has been put in front of me” and it was not his job to make a “legal adjudication”.
Appearing frustrated, Tory MP and chair of the committee Alicia Kearns cited previous instances in which he declared that foreign regimes have breached international law.
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Lord Cameron eventually said he was “worried” Israel might have done so.
He said: “Am I worried that Israel has taken action that might be in breach of international law, because this particular premises has been bombed or whatever?
“Yes, of course I’m worried about that.”
Pressed again on whether he has received legal advice, he said “the short answer is no”. However he said “it’s not really a yes or no answer”.
He said lawyers “give you lots of advice” about events they are worried about, and their job is to “go away, consult with the Israeli authorities.. ask a bunch of questions” before making a judgement.
It comes as Israel prepares to defend itself at The International Court of Justice in The Hague this week, after South Africa accused it of genocide in its war against Hamas.
The conflict was sparked after Hamas’s 7 October attacks against Israel, which saw some 1,200 people killed and around 240 taken hostage.
During a ceasefire in November 105 hostages were released.
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‘Two Britons still being held hostage in Gaza’
However, Lord Cameron told the committee that two British nationals remain hostage.
“There are two British nationals who remain as hostages. I don’t want to make any further comment on them,” he said.
Asked if it is known whether the two people are still alive, the minister said: “I just don’t want to say any more. We don’t have any information to share with you.”
Libya intervention criticism ‘bunk’
Later in the hearing, Lord Cameron also defended his decision to intervene in Libya during his time as prime minister, calling criticism of the action “bunk”.
During his time in charge, an international coalition led by Britain and France launched a campaign of air and missile strikes against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in March that year after the regime threatened to attack the rebel-held city of Benghazi.
Lord Cameron is well known as a smooth communicator and his opening answers were a vintage performance, as he told the committee he shared their shock at being offered the job of foreign secretary after attending a meeting with Rishi Sunak to discuss “various problems”, including the situation in Israel and Gaza.
He denied taking the role as a result of “unfinished business” insisting that he accepted it as a “chance to serve, and I believe profoundly in public service”.
He briefly explained he believed Sunak had appointed him due to the “knowledge, contacts and abilities” he would bring to the role as a former prime minister, in order to have the “strongest possible government”.
Initially, Cameron was calm and assured while discussing his department’s goal to “try and achieve some stability in the Middle East” with an end to conflict in the short term and reiterating the government’s commitment to a two-state solution in the long term.
He also expressed concern that the situation in the Middle East was “taking attention away from Ukraine” and said the UK and other supporters should be doing “everything we can to keep it at the top of the agenda.”
There were much scratchier exchanges however on the key question of whether Israel had breached international humanitarian law.
Likewise there was some back and forth over the question of British hostages in Gaza – Cameron confirmed that two British nationals were still held by Hamas, but said he couldn’t say how many had been released and helped home.
Chair Alicia Kearns expressed incredulity at this, and Sir Philip Barton of the Foreign Office stepped in to clarify that there hadn’t been any, although many people closely connected to British nationals had been released.
He was on a more confident footing defending his own former record in office.
A Foreign Affairs Committee report in 2016 described Britain’s military intervention in Libya as based on “erroneous assumptions” and an “incomplete understanding” of the rebellion against the former dictator.
It also heavily criticised Lord Cameron for turning a limited intervention intended to protect civilians into an “opportunist policy of regime change” based on inadequate intelligence.
The former Tory leader rejected the report’s findings, calling it “bunk”.
He told MPs: “The idea that, as prime minister, you would launch some action in Libya, on the basis of what… you thought it would be a good idea for no reason. We were genuinely concerned there was going to be a slaughter.
“It was right to intervene, it was right to stop Gaddafi killing his own people. It was right to give that country the chance of a brighter future. They didn’t want to have that help in reconstruction.”
The number of children killed in Gaza, according to the local health ministry, recently rose above 15,000.
Fatality figures in Gaza are disputed by Israel, but even allowing for miscalculation or exaggeration, it is a staggering loss of life.
Many children have been orphaned, losing not just both parents but also siblings, grandparents and other close relatives too.
Against this tragedy, the children of Gaza can’t dream of growing up.
War has robbed them of that.
‘I just want to forget’
Image: The children of Gaza have spent a year and a half under Israeli bombardment
“I’m here hanging out with my friends because I just want to forget the war,” Osama says, surrounded by other young boys, probably no older than 10.
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“I look at my destroyed home there and think about the memories I had there with my mum and dad, in their room. And now it’s gone.
“We used to have fun every day, sit in the kitchen, play together at home, and now it’s all gone.
“I want to forget everything. I want to have fun.”
Israel continues to bombard Gaza
On Thursday, Egypt sent a delegation to Qatar in an attempt to push for a renewed ceasefire.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with senior security officials on Thursday night to discuss developments.
For now, Israel is continuing to attack Gaza daily and is refusing to lift a blockade on aid entering the Strip.
The United Nations has reported that cases of malnutrition among children in northern Gaza have almost doubled as a result.
Hundreds of children have also been killed since the resumption of attacks almost two weeks ago.
She danced until the war came home
Five-year-old Jenin liked to dance, like so many five-year-old girls around the world liked to dance.
She danced in the tent where her family was sheltering from the war nearby and she danced until the day that the war came home.
Image: Five-year-old Jenin liked to dance
It was early in the morning when the missile struck – the family was getting ready for Suhoor, the Ramadan breakfast.
Twenty-five of Jenin’s relatives were killed, including her father and all of her brothers and sisters.
Her mother was already dead, killed in a previous strike.
Jenin now lies in a hospital bed, still unaware she has lost her family.
Image: Jenin is now mostly unconscious and in desperate need of surgery she cannot get in Gaza
She is mostly unconscious – her skull fractured, she has bleeding on her brain and is in desperate need of surgery she cannot get in Gaza.
“She’s truly lost all sense of safety. She’s terrified by anyone who comes near her,” Jenin’s aunt told Sky News.
“Jenin has lost the ability to speak. The shock was so severe that she can no longer communicate verbally.”
She went on: “Instead, she points and gestures, but words elude her. Most of the time, she is angry and throws things around; her emotional state is drained.
“Sometimes she responds, but other times she doesn’t. When she looks at us, there’s a visible frustration in her eyes -frustration from not being able to see her mum.”
Image: The aftermath of the strike that killed 25 members of Jenin’s family
Another family that didn’t survive the night
In Gaza City, our team filmed another family that didn’t survive the night.
Rescuers searched for survivors but pulled out the bodies of four people.
Twelve-year-old Sameer was the only one to escape the strike. He sobbed in silent prayer next to the wrapped corpses of his parents and siblings. Another orphan in Gaza.
Image: Sameer was the only one to escape the strike that killed his entire family
Image: Sameer at his family’s funeral
“One of my favourite memories with my family was a day at the beach,” he told us.
“We swam and played and had such a good time. I remember my brother walking back and spilling juice on himself. We laughed and told him off!”
His family was buried together, side-by-side in a shallow grave. Sameer, the one who lived, watched on, silent and lost.
“I wasn’t scared before, because I had my family around me. Right now, I am scared to lose more people. My mum and dad and everyone were martyred. I’m worried about losing more people. So now whenever I hear the planes above, I think they’re going to bomb me in my home.”
Image: Sameer returned to the ruins of his home and found his school books
There is no word for someone who has lost so much.
But in Gaza, there are so many children who have lost everything.
At one factory in East Germany, they’re pumping out a car part every second, cutting and pressing millions of pieces destined for the country’s mega motor industry.
The HENNgineered plant sits on the edge of Zwickau, a city where the car is king. And when it comes to vehicles, America is Germany’s most important trading partner.
In 2024, automotive exports to the US reached a total value of €36.8bn (£30.7bn), according to the German Automobile Association.
So, Donald Trump’s decision to introduce 25% tariffs on all passenger cars and light commercial vehicles imported into the US is a big problem for manufacturers and suppliers alike.
Image: Trump’s tariffs could prove a big problem for car manufacturers and suppliers like HENNgineered in Zwickau
Image: This factory makes a car part every second, cutting and pressing millions of pieces
Image: There are fears about future jobs after Donald Trump announced latest tariffs on car imports
“Such tariffs would be very hard. It could make companies decide to move to the US to produce there, which might also mean jobs are lost here in Germany,” explains site manager Matthias Wissel.
Volkswagen is now the main local employer, providing around 10,000 jobs.
But car building is in people’s blood, with the first vehicle made here around 120 years ago.
The city museum proudly displays cars through the ages.
One room hosts shiny silver racing cars, another brightly coloured Trabants.
Image: The August Horch Museum in Zwickau showcases the city’s long history of car making
The city developed cars from the German empire right through to the current modern republic, explains Thomas Stebich, head of August Horch Museum.
While the immaculate car displays celebrate the city’s pioneering past, tariffs are making many feel uncertain about the future.
“If nobody in the US buys a German car or less people buy German cars, it will have an impact, of course, because we need to build high numbers of cars here [for jobs],” Stebich says.
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If you want to understand how key the auto industry is to German identity, think mining to the UK in its heyday.
Around 700,000 people are employed in the industry, which generates more than 540 billion euros in sales a year.
But tariffs are not the first storm German car manufacturers have had to weather.
High energy and labour costs, competition from China and weaker domestic demand due to the ailing economy mean the German car industry has been cutting jobs.
Audi recently announced it will cut 7,500 administration jobs by 2029.
They’re not the only ones, but Trump’s tariffs news comes as a fresh blow to workers.
A representative on the VW works council in Zwickau cancelled our interview due to crisis talks.
All the workers we met seemed pessimistic and deeply worried for the plant and the city’s future.
Their concern is shared by Aliriza Oernek, who owns four restaurants in Zwickau.
He says in recent years they’ve seen many of their young people leave the area to seek jobs elsewhere. He fears fresh pain from tariffs will hurt the whole community.
“Volkswagen is the biggest employer in Zwickau, the main source of money for people who live here. If they were to disappear, then people won’t stay in the town anymore,” he says.
Image: Aliriza Oernek, owns four restaurants in Zwickau, and worries that tariffs will hurt businesses like his
Like its counterparts, Volkswagen is closely watching developments around tariffs and assessing how they could impact the supply chain and production.
All eyes are currently on the European Union to see how it will retaliate.
In a statement, a spokesperson for VW Group said they “share the assessment of most experts that US tariffs and any counter-tariffs will have negative consequences for growth and prosperity in the US and other economic areas… and continue to advocate for constructive talks”.
So, while car makers brace for impact, Germany’s vowed it will “not take this lying down”, calling for a “firm response” from the EU as it tries to protect its automakers from this new American attack.
Seven healthcare professionals, including a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist and medical staffers, have gone on trial for manslaughter after being accused of failing to provide Maradona with adequate medical care.
Image: Maradona holds the World Cup aloft after his nation’s 3-2 victory over West Germany in 1986. Pic: AP/Carlo Fumagalli
One of the experts who performed a post-mortem examination on Maradona spoke in front of the court on Thursday.
He said the Argentinian suffered agony for at least 12 hours before death and added “any doctor” should have noticed his symptoms days earlier.
Carlos Cassinelli, director of forensic medicine at the Scientific Police Superintendency, on Thursday provided details of the post-mortem performed on the day of Maradona’s death.
Image: Fans gather in Buenos Aires during the trial earlier this month.
Pic: Reuters/Agustin Marcarian
“The heart was completely covered in fat and blood clots, which indicate agony,” he said.
Mr Cassinelli added: “This is a patient who had been collecting water over the days; that’s not acute.
“This was something that was foreseeable.
“Any doctor examining a patient would find this.”
The post-mortem concluded that Maradona died from acute pulmonary edema secondary to congestive heart failure.
The trial could last up to four months, with three hearings held a week.
If found guilty, the defendants, who all deny the allegations against them, could be jailed for 25 years.
Among the accused are Leopoldo Luque, Maradona’s personal physician for the last four years of his life, and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, who prescribed medication that Maradona took until the time of his death.
Along with them, psychologist Carlos Diaz, coordinator of the medical company hired to care for him during his hospitalisation, Nancy Forlini, representative of the company that rendered nursing service, Mariano Perroni, Dr Pedro Di Spagna, who monitored his treatment, and nurse Ricardo Almiron are also standing trial.
Image: Leopoldo Luque, the personal doctor of Maradona. Pic: Reuters/Agustin Marcarian
Gisela Madrid, a nurse who was also indicted, will be tried by a jury later this year.