The UK foreign secretary has said he is “appalled, sickened” by the “grotesque” targeting of starving Palestinians seeking food by the Israeli military, saying there would be further sanctions if the war did not end soon.
Israel on Monday launched air raids and a ground operation in Gaza, targeting Deir al-Balah, the main hub for humanitarian efforts. Military action over the weekend resulted in the highest death toll in almost two years as Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 93 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli fire as they were queueing for food.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, David Lammy said he deeply regretted that it was not within the UK’s unilateral power to end the war and insisted, despite criticism from human rights groups, that there were no arms licences issued by the UK that could be used in Gaza and that RAF surveillance flights did not share intelligence with the Israeli military.
The UK has joined 27 other countries, including Australia, Canada and France, in condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of “human dignity”, and urging the Israeli government to lift restrictions on the flow of aid, arguing that the suffering of civilians had “reached new depths”.
Rights groups including Amnesty International called the statement “empty words” and said all arms exports must be halted whether direct or indirect, including components for F-35 fighter jets.
Asked why there were still more than 300 licences in operation, Lammy said: “We have suspended arms sales that can be used in Gaza. I’m satisfied that we are not in any way complicit in a breach of international humanitarian law. That’s the sober undertaking that I take as foreign secretary.”
Lammy said the UK could not single-handedly force an end to the war. “I wish we could, but the truth is … we are unable to do that just as the United Kingdom. We have to work in partnership with our allies, that is what we have done. And I’m afraid if we do not see this war come to an end, there will be more action.
“But I stand on my record and it’s a good record. I believe it’s one that we can hold up, and it’s one that you would find other governments have not done as much as the UK government has done to bring the war to an end, but have we succeeded at this point? We have obviously failed until it succeeds. That is the truth.”
Asked if RAF flights that overfly Gaza shared information to help Israel conduct the war, Lammy said: “No … We are not assisting, and it would be quite wrong for the British government to assist in the prosecution of this war in Gaza. We are not doing that. I would never do that.”
Lammy told BBC Breakfast he felt “appalled, sickened” by the scenes of starving Palestinians being shot as they sought food.
“These are not words that are usually used by a foreign secretary who is attempting to be diplomatic, but when you see innocent children holding out their hand for food, and you see them shot and killed in the way that we have seen in the last few days, of course Britain must call it out,” he said.
“We will continue to pressure, we will continue to act, we will continue to urge this Israeli government to listen to 83% of its public who are urging them now to move to a ceasefire so those hostages can come out.”
Asked by ITV’s Good Morning Britain what more he planned to do if Israel did not agree to end the conflict, Lammy replied: “Well, we’ve announced a raft of sanctions over the last few months.
“There will be more, clearly, and we keep all of those options under consideration if we do not see a change in behaviour and the suffering that we are seeing come to an end.”
