The defence secretary, John Healey, announced the deployment of a small number of planning officers, including a senior commander, at an event on Monday night. He said the UK would play an anchor role. Ten days ago the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the UK had no plans to send soldiers to Gaza. The commander will work as a deputy in the American-led civil military coordination centre in Israel.
The conference was announced by Downing Street ahead of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's arrival in Egypt on Monday for a peace plan signing co-chaired by US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. While Starmer has not attended the conference, convened at the UK Foreign Office's Wilton Park conference center, it has been led by the UK's Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer,