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The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Mr David Lammy)
With permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the middle east. I will begin with Syria. We have been horrified by the recent violence in the south, including civilian deaths. Clashes between Druze and Bedouin militias have quickly escalated into intense fighting, with involvement from Government forces and further Israeli strikes on the Syrian military. As I have said directly to Foreign Minister al-Shaibani, we want to see the fighting ended, civilians protected, and the rights of all Syrians upheld. The violence in Suwayda must be investigated, and those responsible must be held accountable. We want humanitarian access to be restored and for aid to be delivered, and Syria’s sovereignty must be respected.
The UK can be proud of our support to the Syrian people over many years. A stable Syria matters to the UK’s national interest, in terms of terrorism, irregular migration and regional stability. We must work to prevent extremism, sectarianism or lawlessness taking hold now that Assad is gone. That is why we are backing a sustainable ceasefire. It is why we support an inclusive transition, and it is why I visited Damascus recently to support the new Government and to press them to meet their commitments.
I will now turn to the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is two and a half months since Prime Minister Netanyahu restarted offensive operations. The Israel Defence Forces have driven Palestinians out of 86% of Gaza, leaving around 2 million people trapped in an area scarcely over 20 square miles. Whatever this Israeli Government might claim, repeated displacement of so many civilians is not keeping them safe. In fact, it is quite the reverse.
The new Israeli aid system is inhumane and dangerous, and it deprives Gazans of human dignity. It contradicts long-established humanitarian principles. It creates disorder that Hamas are now exploiting, with distribution points reduced from 400 to just four. It forces desperate civilians, children among them, to scramble unsafely for the essentials of life. It is a grotesque spectacle, wreaking a terrible human cost.
Almost 1,000 civilians have been killed since May seeking aid, including 100 this weekend alone. There are near-daily reports of Israeli troops opening fire on people trying to access food. Israeli jets have hit women and children waiting for a health clinic to open. An Israeli drone has struck down children filling water containers, which Israeli officials blamed on a technical error. Hamas are of course contributing to the chaos and taking advantage of it, but I utterly condemn the killing of civilians seeking to meet their basic needs. The Israeli Government must answer: what possible military justification can there be for strikes that have killed desperate, starving children? What immediate actions are they taking to stop this litany of horrors? What will they do to hold those responsible to account?
I am a steadfast supporter of Israel’s security and right to exist. I treasure the many connections between our peoples, and the horrors of 7 October must never be forgotten, but I firmly believe that the Israeli Government’s actions are doing untold damage to Israel’s standing in the world and undermining Israel’s long-term security. Netanyahu should listen to the Israeli people, some 82% of whom desperately want a ceasefire, and to the hostages’ families, because they know a ceasefire offers the best chance to bring their loved ones home. Those hostages may be hidden in cramped tunnels under the ruins of Gaza, but we will not forget them, or Hamas’s despicable actions, and we will continue to demand their unconditional release. This offensive puts them in grave danger, but still Netanyahu persists.
Indeed, Minister Katz has gone further, proposing to drive Gaza’s entire population into Rafah, imprisoning Palestinians, unless they are persuaded to emigrate. This is a cruel vision that must never come to pass, and I condemn it unequivocally. Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law. Many Israelis themselves are appalled. As the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said,
“it marches us into the abyss”.
He is right.
Today I join a statement with 31 Foreign Ministers as signatories. It had a simple, urgent message: the war in Gaza must end now. There is no military solution. Negotiations will secure the hostages. Further bloodshed serves no purpose. Hamas and Israel must both commit to a ceasefire now, and the next ceasefire must be the last ceasefire. I thank the United States, Qatar and Egypt for their tireless efforts. I am sure that all Members share my intense frustration that the ceasefire has not happened. Until there is a breakthrough, we must keep doing all we can to relieve the suffering.
UK aid has saved lives, reaching hundreds of thousands with food, water, hygiene and sanitation, and essential healthcare. Under the most appalling circumstances, our aid is saving lives today. That includes the almost £9 million the UK has provided to UK-Med since we entered office, reaching half a million patients inside Gaza and 24,000 in the past fortnight alone, including three-year old Razan—UK-funded medics removed a bullet from her neck after nearly three hours of surgery. These doctors and nurses working in the most extreme conditions are true heroes. They deserve the thanks and admiration of the entire House.
We are also working multilaterally. The 149 trucks from the World Food Programme and UNICEF entering Gaza in recent days included food supplies funded by the UK. Thousands more trucks laden with aid paid for by British taxpayers can enter the moment that the Israeli Government let them in. Today I am announcing an extra £40 million for humanitarian assistance in Gaza this year, including £7.5 million for UK-Med to sustain its vital operations in Gaza and save more lives.
Accompanying the horrors in Gaza is an accelerating campaign to prevent a future Palestinian state in the west bank. It is embraced by Netanyahu, encouraged by his Ministers and driven by an extremist ideology that wants to suffocate the two-state solution, which is the only route to a lasting peace and security. We see it in the unprecedented pace of settlement expansion and in the shocking levels of settler violence—and even settler terrorism, for that is what the most egregious ideological attacks are. The deliberate attempts to squeeze the Palestinian Authority, unjustly denying them access to their own funds, harms Israel’s long-term interests in the process. Now the Israeli Government are reintroducing plans to construct new units in the E1 area of occupied East Jerusalem. If built, that settlement would separate the west bank’s north from its south, and Palestinians in the west bank from East Jerusalem. These plans are wholly unacceptable, they are illegal, and they must not happen.
We are striving to keep open the prospects of a two-state solution. UK assistance has been preserving the Palestinian Authority, contributing to essential Palestinian workers’ salaries and supporting them to progress critical reforms. Today I can confirm that we are enhancing our support, providing £7 million to strengthen the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian governance, implementing the agreement signed by me and Prime Minister Mustafa earlier this year, and delivering the reform plans that President Abbas has set out. I can also confirm that we are providing £20 million to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency’s many services for Palestinian refugees.
Alongside that support, we are leading diplomatic efforts to show that there must be a viable peaceful pathway to a Palestinian state involving the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, in the security and governance of the area. Hamas can have no role in the governance of Gaza, and nor must it be allowed to use it as a launchpad for terrorism. Israeli Ministers should support the Palestinian Authority, not actively undermine their economy, as Ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich are doing. The UK is co-leading with Egypt the humanitarian and reconstruction track for the forthcoming two-state solution conference, and we are pushing to agree plans for a credible next phase in Gaza, with a responsible, reformed PA at their core, so that we can turn any temporary ceasefire into a lasting peace.
In our year in office, this Labour Government have acted to address this horrendous conflict. We restored funding to UNRWA after the Tories froze it. We suspended arms export licences, when the Tories had declined to act. We have provided nearly a quarter of a billion in humanitarian assistance this year and next, getting medical treatment and food to hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza. We have stood with the hostage families at every stage. We have worked with Jordan to fly medicines into Gaza, with Egypt to treat medically evacuated civilians, and with Kuwait and UNICEF to help children in Gaza.
We have delivered three sanctions packages on violent settlers, suspended trade negotiations with the Israeli Government, and sanctioned far-right Israeli Ministers for incitement. We have defended the independence of the international courts. We have signed a landmark agreement with the Palestinian Authority and hosted the Palestinian Prime Minister in London, pushing for the reform they need. We called for, worked for and voted for an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages at every possible opportunity, and we will keep doing so until this war is over, Hamas release the hostages and we finally have a pathway to a two-state solution. I commend this statement to the House.
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of his statement.
The violence, loss of life and conflicts that continue in the middle east shock us all. Events in the middle east have a direct impact on our national interests and on people living on our own country, from concerns about family members in the region to demonstrations on our streets, and from the threats from Iran to the rise of antisemitism. We on the Opposition side of the House are clear that we want to see an end to the conflict in Gaza. We want to see the return of the hostages. The humanitarian support, which is so desperately needed, must get in. There must be an end to the terror inflicted by Hamas and Iran. However, the reality of peace and a sustainable end to the conflict in Gaza seems to be drifting further away.
What is Britain’s role when it comes to workable outcomes and practical solutions to advance an end to this conflict, and what diplomatic action is being taken with regional allies and the United States? Where is Britain’s voice and action when it comes to putting new pressure on Hamas to agree to the most recent US proposals to secure a ceasefire, and release the hostages who have been in cruel captivity for more than 650 days? As for the statement that the Foreign Secretary signed earlier today, can he explain what an “unconditional and permanent” ceasefire means for Hamas and the Palestinian Authority?
Last week, I met Keith and Aviva Siegel, and heard about their harrowing experience of being held in brutal captivity by Hamas. I pay tribute to them for their incredible bravery and resilience, and for their dedication to securing the freedom of the remaining hostages, from Gali and Ziv Berman to Matan Angrest and Omri Miran, and all those being held in barbaric captivity. They must be returned to their loved ones. The hostages are being denied humanitarian access by Hamas. What are the Government doing about that, and when was the Foreign Secretary’s last intervention on the issue?
The situation relating to aid for Gaza has deteriorated beyond all rational comprehension. The daily reports of casualties seeking aid are appalling, and we utterly condemn these attacks. But our words and political statements of condemnation are not saving lives, so what practical solutions, proposals and options have the Foreign Secretary and the British Government discussed with Israel in respect of aid supplies into Gaza? What dialogue is there to find agreement on the opening of access for that aid that goes beyond the current dangerous approach? I remind the House that the last Conservative Government, through Lord Cameron, secured new aid routes and better aid access to save lives. Surely the desperate urgency of the situation, which we all see, calls for such options to be considered once again.
I reiterate our long-standing position that settlements are not helpful to achieving long-term peace. Israel should not take steps that could make a two-state solution more difficult, and must use its legal system to clamp down on settler violence. We want a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians, and I am sure the Foreign Secretary agrees that it should come only at a time that is conducive to peace and cannot be the start of a peace process—certainly not while Israeli hostages are still in captivity in Gaza. Does he agree that there needs to be a clear plan and international measures to see the exit of Hamas from Gaza?
As for Syria, the barbaric violence that we have witnessed in recent days cannot continue. All groups and minorities in Syria must be protected. The Foreign Secretary mentioned his recent discussions with the transitional Syrian leadership. Did he convey to those in charge that they have a responsibility to end the armed conflict in their country and guarantee the protection of all minority groups in Syria, before the international community removes sanctions and normalises diplomatic relationships? What assurances has he received from the transitional Government, and have those commitments been met in any way with measurable action? Will he update the House on whether any of the £64.5 million dedicated to Syria that was announced by the Government earlier this month will be used to deal with the aftermath of these latest clashes, and on how it will be spent? Does he deem sufficient action to have been taken by the interim Government on the destruction of chemical weapons? Does he believe that the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham Government are capable of securing Syria’s borders, and does he intend to change the proscribed status of HTS? What is his assessment of the effect of the sanctions that have already been lifted? Have they had any unintended side effects? Syria’s future still hangs in the balance, and we need to be wholly evidence-led in our approach.
The Foreign Secretary did not mention Iran, but we understand from reports that Iran, Britain, France and Germany are due to hold nuclear talks in Istanbul on Friday. What is the purpose of those talks, is he co-ordinating actions with the United States, and what is the content of the deal that he wants to see?
Mr Lammy
I am grateful to the shadow Foreign Secretary for the tone of her remarks, and I am grateful for the cross-party consensus in the House that this war must come to an end. I note the huge concern that we all feel, not just in the House but in the international community, about the humanitarian suffering that we continue to see.
The right hon. Lady asked what more could be done and prayed in aid the work of the former Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron. She will recognise that Lord Cameron and, before him, the right hon. Member for Braintree (Sir James Cleverly) raised the humanitarian situation with the Israelis. It has become steadily worse. The number of aid points is now down to four, and, while the new foundation is offering aid, people are dying as they scramble for that aid. I note that the right hon. Lady did not say we should return to the 400 aid points that we had in the past, and she will note that her Government did not refund funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, but we believe that the UN and its system are best placed to deliver aid to Gaza, and that is the position that we continue to maintain.
Against that backdrop, the right hon. Lady asked what we were doing on a multilateral basis and what we were doing in working with others to bring this to an end. I ask her to read the statement that has landed, which 31 countries have now signed up to. Of course we are pressing and working with colleagues. I spoke to Minister Sa’ar once again today, urging him to do the right thing—to secure a ceasefire, but also to look at the aid system that is not working.
As for governance, the right hon. Lady will know that in a couple of weeks’ time we will participate in the two-state conference that has been organised by France, and she will also know that that conference is now dedicated to looking closely at the governance arrangements that must be put in place. When Hamas leave—and they must go; they cannot govern Gaza—how do we ensure that it is not a 60-day pause, but that we bring an end to this and move to the two-state solution? The right hon. Lady knows our commitment to recognition, as set out in our manifesto, and the conversation about recognition that is going on internationally.
The right hon. Lady rightly pressed the case on Syria. When I met al-Sharaa, I made it absolutely clear that his Government had to be inclusive. I pressed him on his background as a terrorist, and on our concerns—the concerns that exist in this Chamber—but we must work with him to ensure that the Government are inclusive, and to ensure that security is fundamental. As the right hon. Lady will understand, there is much that we need to do to support them on counter-terrorism at this time, and, in a country where 90% of people are living in poverty, to ensure that people receive the aid and support that they need—and, indeed, that that aid and support go to the areas affected by the murders we have seen over the last few days.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)
I call the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)
Earlier today, 31 countries put out a powerful message: the war must end now, aid must go into Gaza unrestricted, the hostages must be released, and all parties must uphold international law. That powerful message was sent to Israel, and by return it was rejected. It was denounced by Israel as being “disconnected from reality”. So what now? In that statement, the 31 nations said:
“We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire and a political pathway to security and peace for Israelis, Palestinians and the entire region.”
What are we going to do, may I ask, and does that include the final recognition of Palestine?
Mr Lammy
My right hon. Friend is right to call into question so quickly the Israeli Government’s rejection of the advice of their friends and 31 countries, which have come together to express their horror at people losing their lives when simply reaching out to get aid and humanitarian care. She referred to the debate about recognition. We will be working with our French colleagues, who are focusing the upcoming conference on how we get to two states; as she would expect, the UK will play its part. On the broader issues, I hope and pray that we get a ceasefire, and of course that will lead to further activity as we head towards the UN General Assembly.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
I thank the Foreign Secretary for advance sight of his statement. I welcome his commitment to a diplomatic resolution in Syria, and to holding the Governments of Syria and Israel accountable for protecting all civilians, especially minorities.
The Foreign Secretary is right to say that the situation in Gaza is inhumane and grotesque and that a ceasefire is desperately needed. I welcome the aid allocations that he has announced, but the problem is that the situation is not new and that repeated expressions of regret by this Government have not prevented further carnage from being wrought by the Netanyahu Government.
The whole House saw the passion with which the right hon. Gentleman announced the British, French and Canadian joint position on 20 May, and with which the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), sanctioned Ministers Smotrich and Ben-Gvir on 10 June. In those statements, Ministers said that “we cannot stand by” and that they would respond
“not just with words but with action.”—[Official Report, 10 June 2025; Vol. 768, c. 913.]
I think they meant it, and yet two months later, the Secretary of State has only words, not action. Once again, his joint statement with other countries says only that
“We are prepared to take further action”,
and yet children queuing for food or water are still being killed every single day as the Israeli Cabinet maintains its grotesque blockade of humanitarian aid. It now proposes an open-air prison for all Gazans, which, according to Ehud Olmert, would amount to “ethnic cleansing”.
Today, I spoke to the Oxfordshire doctors Nick Maynard and Nada Al-Hadithy from Nasser hospital in Gaza. They described the desperation of civilians facing the latest Israeli attack, on Deir al-Balah, and the deaths of patients for want of basic dressings, and said that IDF snipers fired directly into the hospital compound. Yet settlers in the west bank continue illegally to occupy Palestinian homes and land, and the remaining hostages, who have been held in Gaza for over 650 days at the hands of Hamas terrorists, are no closer to release.
I have written to the Foreign Secretary frequently to set out the many more steps that Liberal Democrats believe he should take, so I will simply ask him this. Does he truly believe that his Government are doing all they can to put an end to the terrible violence and starvation being visited on Gaza in clear contravention of international law? Can he explain why there have been so few consequences since he and the Under-Secretary of State spoke so powerfully in the last two months? And can he dispel the widespread view that he is not setting the policy he would choose, but that he is instead being reined in by No. 10’s desire not to upset President Trump by acting more boldly?
Mr Lammy
I associate myself with much that the hon. Gentleman said. It is a source of great regret to me that we have not brought this most horrendous of wars and conflicts to an end. My right hon. Friend the Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, referred to the Israeli Government’s response to the statement signed by 31 countries, which I had not heard because I have been sat in this Chamber. That ignoring of the international community is tarnishing greatly the reputation of Israel.
I listed in my statement the action that this Government have taken in the last year, since coming into office. The hon. Gentleman knows that this Government have led much of the multilateral effort, and that sits behind both the leaders’ statement a few weeks ago and the Foreign Secretaries’ statement today. We will continue to press. We continue, of course, to look at what further we may need to do, as he would expect. I wish I could say that if we were to recognise tomorrow, it would bring this war to an end, but I am afraid I am not sure that is the case. What is required now is painstaking diplomacy to get to a ceasefire, and my assessment is that we will not see that ceasefire until the Knesset rises.
Several hon. Members rose—
Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)
Order. Once again, a very large number of hon. Members wish to take part in this discussion. The intention is to try to accommodate everybody, but that will mean Members exercising a degree of self-restraint that was not entirely evident during the previous statement. I leave it to you, but if you want everybody to be called, then please, we need questions, not statements. If I may say so, Foreign Secretary, we also need relatively brief answers.
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) (Lab)
The statement we have from the 25 or 31 partners takes us no further forward. It says:
“We are prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire”.
People want action, not more repetition of, “We call for”, “We demand” and “We urge”. We want action, and this is not action. We have had this so many times before. We have this terrible humanitarian crisis, the forcible transfer of civilians, and starvation by Israel. How can it be that we have a situation in which the IDF are firing at children and systematically going for the head, stomach and testicles for their sport, and in which Rafah has been razed to the ground and this euphemistic “humanitarian city” is being constructed, which the former Prime Minister of Israel has called a “concentration camp”? When are we going to take the appropriate action to bring about a comprehensive trade and arms embargo and concentrate the mind of Israel? Nothing else is working. They are not listening, and they are getting away with murder every single day.
Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Roger Gale)
The hon. Gentleman clearly did not listen to a word that I said, but I am sure that the Foreign Secretary did.
Mr Lammy
I understand my hon. Friend’s frustration, and he has been consistent for a very long time. As I have said, I regret that we are not in a place where we currently have a ceasefire, despite the international community calling for one and the pressure that exists. He is right: what we are seeing at the moment is an abomination, and I join him in those remarks.
Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
Of course we all condemn the evil Hamas, but is not Prime Minister Netanyahu the biggest recruiting sergeant for Hamas? For every fighter he kills, he is radicalising the whole world against the state of Israel because of this appalling humanitarian solution. I agree with everything the Foreign Secretary says, but are words enough? I wonder whether he will oblige the House and allow a free vote, which I bet would pass by an enormous majority, on a motion for further action against the extreme right-wing actions of Prime Minister Netanyahu, sanctions, and recognition of the state of Palestine.
Mr Lammy
I hope that the Israeli Government are watching and note what senior parliamentarians on both sides of this House are saying. The right hon. Gentleman will know that 83% of the population now want a ceasefire, and he will have seen the remarks of former Prime Ministers and of all the Opposition in Israel, who condemned the most recent proposals suggested by Minister Katz.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
Earlier this month I hosted in Parliament Dr Waseem Saeed, a British surgeon who had returned from working in the Nasser hospital in Gaza, where he treated children for severe burns, amputations and shrapnel wounds that were crawling with maggots. He showed us videos that would shock everybody in this House. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that Israel should face a reckoning in the courts for such injuries and deaths, and that the UK should force such a reckoning? More importantly, does he agree that recognising a state of Palestine is really about recognising the humanity of the Palestinian people, and that their children deserve to have equal worth to every child on this planet?
Mr Lammy
I agree with my hon. Friend that the Palestinian cause is a just cause, and I would ask the Israeli Government to reflect again on international humanitarian law. I have in front of me “A Practitioner’s Legal Handbook”, and I am hugely concerned, as I read through it, that it feels that there are breaches.
Sir John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)
The deaths of those trying to access aid in Gaza are truly shocking. The Foreign Secretary will be aware that the number of civilians killed is being disputed by Israel and there are suggestions of disinformation. Does he agree that one way in which we could establish what is actually happening is if international media organisations, like the BBC and Reuters, were allowed full access to Gaza?
Uma Kumaran (Stratford and Bow) (Lab)
Each time Members come together for a statement on the middle east, there is a new horror to comment on, a new inhumanity unfolding and a new form of strong words from the Dispatch Box. Last week, IDF shells hit a church sheltering 600 civilians. Several people were killed. The Pope called it “barbarity”. Yesterday, a World Food Programme convoy came under fire from Israeli forces, despite numerous assurances that humanitarian operational conditions would improve. Innocent Palestinians who were queuing for desperately needed food were killed. According to Médecins Sans Frontières, we are witnessing in real time the creation of conditions for the eradication of Palestinian lives in Gaza. So I ask the Foreign Secretary: where is this Government’s red line? At what point does our basic humanity require us to take stronger action? Many of us in this House think the red line was passed a long time ago.
Mr Lammy
I remind my hon. Friend of the action that this Government have taken and how we have tried to lead in the international community on this issue. I also join her in condemning what we have seen in relation to civilians. Page 28 of “Conflict, Hunger and International Humanitarian Law: A Practitioner’s Legal Handbook” makes it clear that:
“Parties to armed conflict must take constant care in the conduct of military operations to spare the civilian population, civilians and civilian objects.”
Clearly, that is not happening.
Kit Malthouse (North West Hampshire) (Con)
Like others in this House, I am frankly astonished at the statement of the Foreign Secretary. At a time when we have got daily lynchings and expulsions on the west bank, and dozens being murdered as they beg for aid, I am just beyond words at his inaction—and, frankly, complicity by inaction. He said himself that there is a massive prison camp being constructed in the south of Gaza and he knows that leading genocide scholars from across the world are ringing the alarm bells, yet he has the temerity to show up in this House and wave his cheque book as if that is going to salve his conscience. Can he not see that his inaction and, frankly, cowardice are making this country irrelevant? Can he also not see the personal risk to him, given our international obligations—that he may end up at The Hague because of his inaction? Finally, frankly, I make an appeal to Labour Back Benchers: we cannot get your leadership to change their minds; only you can, if you organise and insist on change.
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
Order. Before I bring in the Foreign Secretary, I remind Members that we have other business to proceed with tonight, so please keep questions and answers short.
Mr Lammy
I understand the fury that the right hon. Gentleman feels, but I have to tell him—
Alex Ballinger (Halesowen) (Lab)
We have seen again images of children dying of starvation and malnutrition, and this comes after months of warnings from the UN system about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza. I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s announcement of more aid, but we know that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will not allow in more UK aid. He said to me 10 days ago at the Foreign Affairs Committee that if there was not a ceasefire, he would consider further action against Israel. As we have seen, the Israelis responded to the calls for a ceasefire by launching a new offensive in Deir al-Balah. What further actions will we take to try to end this catastrophic situation?
Mr Lammy
We have actually been able to get in some further aid with the World Food Programme, and of course that is important. It is also right to say that, with our funding of UK-Med, we have been able to save lives. Of course, we must endeavour every single day to make the humanitarian situation better.
Richard Foord (Honiton and Sidmouth) (LD)
The Foreign Secretary appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee on 8 July, when he was asked what would happen if we did not see a ceasefire in Gaza in the coming weeks. He was also asked whether the British Government would take further measures against Israel. The Foreign Secretary was pensive, and said “Yes”—that the British Government would be taking further measures if the abomination in Gaza continued. Could he tell the House what those further measures are, or at the very least when we might see them?
Mr Lammy
We are doing everything we can in supporting our Qatari, Egyptian and US friends to get a ceasefire. The hon. Member will understand that, in looking closely at these issues, even if we are contemplating further measures, they work more effectively if we can co-ordinate allies.
Tracy Gilbert (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab)
The ground invasion of Deir al-Balah is the latest to add to the daily attacks on Gazans, and it is further evidence that the conflict has gone too far. Israeli Foreign Ministers have already rejected the joint statement signed by 31 countries, including ours. Can the Foreign Secretary outline what additional specific steps he will take with others to bring about a ceasefire and secure aid for starving Gazans?
Mr Lammy
I set out in my statement the action that this Government have taken, and I stand by it. I regret that we have not brought about a ceasefire. I have also set out that we are attempting to get in more aid and how we are supporting the Palestinian people, including the Palestinian Authority, and I stand by that.
Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)
On the Foreign Secretary’s watch and in his statement today, he has refused to call it a genocide, he has refused to end all arms sales to Israel and, of course, he continues to refuse to recognise a state of Palestine, so here is something he could do. On his watch, just two wee kids who have been bombed or shot by the Israeli forces have been evacuated to the UK for medical treatment. The First Minister of Scotland wrote to the Prime Minister saying that we stand ready to provide hospital treatment to such children. Shamefully, the Prime Minister has not even bothered to respond. Will the Foreign Secretary do what his boss will not, and commit the UK to making sure that children who have been bombed by Israel are treated—
Mr Lammy
I say to the right hon. Gentleman that we have suspended sales of arms that could be used in Gaza. He should look closely at our export licensing regime, because much of it is not about arms. It is about, for example, equipment that we send to support non-governmental organisations and others in the area. Of course, I am happy to look, with the Home Secretary, at what more we can do for children who are suffering.
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)
Ministers say it is for the courts to decide whether genocide has occurred in Gaza, but the genocide convention is aimed primarily at prevention, and the International Court of Justice has already found that there is a plausible risk of genocide and advised that all states must act collectively to prevent it. While the occupying Israeli forces are accelerating the building of illegal settlements in the west bank, the scenes in Gaza are horrific, with almost 1,000 people killed by the IDF while just seeking aid. We are seeing starvation being used as a weapon, the forced displacement of Gazans and mass civilian death, and senior Israeli officials are using dehumanising language while proposing to concentrate Gazans into a mass detention camp. So I ask the Foreign Secretary: when will the Government take decisive action, with international partners, to prevent genocide?
Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend prays in aid the law in terms of plausibility in breach of international humanitarian law. If he looks at my statement back in September, he will see that I assessed that there was a clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law. It is for that reason that I suspended arms sales.
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
I am aiming to finish this statement at around a quarter to 8. Given the length of questions, Members will be able to see that not everybody will get in.
David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)
Everybody condemns the deaths as people queue for aid, but this aid system that was enforced is only possible because of the support of the United States in its delivery—so what is the Foreign Secretary doing to persuade the United States that this is not the way to deliver aid into Gaza?
Mr Lammy
I reassure the right hon. Gentleman that I have made representations to Secretary of State Rubio about my concerns with the aid system. I have done that alongside many European Foreign Ministers and members of the G7.
Jon Pearce (High Peak) (Lab)
I recently met the mother of Oz Daniel, a 19-year-old who was murdered by Hamas on 7 October. His dead body was dragged into Gaza. Oz loved to play music; he loved Guns N’ Roses and was a brilliant guitar player. This is about a mum who just wants her dead son’s body brought home. A senior US official has said that Israel is bending over backwards to agree a ceasefire and that it is Hamas who are blocking it. Will the Foreign Secretary set out what pressure the Government are applying to Hamas, via Qatar and Egypt, to agree a ceasefire and to bring the hostages home?
Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend is right to the extent that the challenge faced on the ceasefire has been principally that Hamas do not want a pause and the Israeli Government have said that they do want a pause. There has also been discussion within Israel of what withdrawal we would see of the IDF and, of course, changing the humanitarian aid system. That is why a ceasefire has remained stuck, but it is my hope that once the Knesset rises on the 22nd, we will move to a ceasefire.
Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
As the Foreign Secretary follows the diplomatic path, will he ensure that in the discussions of the two-state solution, it is borne in mind that not only does the state of Palestine exist, but that Israel’s neighbours do need to recognise Israel’s right to exist?
Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)
Najwa Ahmed Fathi Radwan and Mohammed Hassan Yousef Daoud are just two of the tens of thousands of Palestinian children who have been killed in Gaza. Many of their names were read out over the course of 12 hours at a really powerful vigil, which I joined in Aylesbury town centre this weekend. Yet today, that list of dead children has likely just got longer, with Israel’s assault on Deir al-Balah. Will the Foreign Secretary say to his Israeli counterparts: enough is enough?
Mr Lammy
I reassure my hon. Friend that I said that this morning to my Israeli counterpart.
Several hon. Members rose—
Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)
Before I call the next speaker, let me say that I heard some unacceptable comments directed at a Member in this Chamber, and I will not be having that. We are investigating it. Until I find out from the Clerks who said those words, please do be assured that I will investigate it.
Dr Andrew Murrison (South West Wiltshire) (Con)
The Foreign Secretary, at the beginning of his remarks, mentioned the savagery unfolding in southern Syria, and said that he had spoken to his Syrian interlocuter, Minister al-Shaibani, about it. Has he spoken to Tel Aviv about it, since the only country that has visibly come to the assistance of the Druze, for all the criticism that has been rightly aimed at it, is Israel? If he has, can he say what his assessment is of the wisdom or otherwise of the action that Israel has taken?
Mr Lammy
The UK is clear that we expect Israel to adhere to its commitment that its presence in the area of separation in the south is both limited and temporary. I did press the Israeli Foreign Minister on Israel’s activity, which I worry destabilises the situation further.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
I recognise the Foreign Secretary’s labours to get as many international allies on board and the importance of that, but clearly we must do more—this is not enough. Israel’s flaunting of international law and the devastating consequences of that—I understand that Israeli soldiers are reporting being told to kill children, to point and shoot—are completely unacceptable. As a starting point, perhaps we could ensure that we refuse the Israeli air force chief entry to the Royal International Air Tattoo. Also, as others have said, how will we get over here children who need care?
Mr Lammy
I said that I will look at what more we can do should children require medical aid in our own country. If what my hon. Friend says is correct, it would constitute a war crime, very clearly. We cannot have soldiers turning their guns on children. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on any decision that might come to me.
Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
Last week, I hosted Keith and Aviva Siegel, both of whom were hostages and were released. The previous week, I met families of hostages who all pleaded with all of us to get the hostages released. The hostages have now been in captivity for 654 days, without any access by the International Red Cross. Will the Foreign Secretary call out Hamas to enable the International Red Cross to go to see those hostages and make sure they are being treated humanely?
Mr Lammy
The hon. Gentleman is right. I said in my statement that Hamas are making hay with the chaos that exists on the ground, and it is quite wrong to restrict the support of organisations such as the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)
The Prime Minister responded to my questions on Gaza in the Liaison Committee this afternoon by saying:
“we need a ceasefire and we need it straightaway”
and
“the situation on the ground is intolerable”.
How will we get that ceasefire when the Israeli Government have already rejected the statement by the Foreign Secretary and his allied Ministers as “disconnected from reality”? The will of the House is clear on this matter: it wants action, not words. Why is my right hon. Friend not hearing that?
Mr Lammy
I thank my hon. Friend for his long-standing campaigning on these issues. Of course I am hearing the strength of feeling in the House—how could I not?—and of course the Israeli Government can see the strength of feeling in the House. He knows the list of actions that the UK has taken. He knows the work we are doing with close allies. He knows, too, that we have not brought this war to an end, and he will be familiar with the work we are doing with countries such as Qatar, Egypt and the United States to bring about a ceasefire.
Alison Bennett (Mid Sussex) (LD)
Yesterday, it was reported, as hon. Members will be aware, that at least 93 Palestinians were shot and killed while queuing for GHF-distributed food because they and their families are being starved to death. The fact that GHF stands for Gaza Humanitarian Foundation smacks of an Orwellian doublespeak which I find profoundly disturbing. The Foreign Secretary must surely agree that the current system of aid distribution headed by the GHF is both unsafe and grossly inadequate. Is the Secretary of State content that Britain is doing all it can to ensure it is not complicit in the grotesque use of starvation as a tool of war?
Mr Lammy
I associate myself with what the hon. Lady has said, and I assure her, not just on my behalf but on behalf of everyone in this Chamber, that there will be no complicity among any of us in acts where there could be a clear risk of a breach of international humanitarian law.
Matthew Patrick (Wirral West) (Lab)
Last week I heard from Keith and Aviva Siegel, who had been held hostage by Hamas. It was a powerful reminder that until all hostages are released, no hostage is released. That is true for Avinatan Or and his family and Gali and Ziv Berman and their family—in fact, it is the families of hostages who are some of the loudest voices calling for an end to this war. Will the Secretary of State outline what steps he is taking to ensure that the next ceasefire is permanent and will see hostages get out of Gaza and aid get in?
Mr Lammy
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question; he is right to mention the hostages. I meet regularly with hostage families and did a few weeks ago in my office. He is absolutely right that the overwhelming majority of the Israeli people—83%—want a ceasefire so that the hostages can get out, and they want it to be a sustained and enduring ceasefire, which is not currently the position of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Carla Denyer (Bristol Central) (Green)
The UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls has said that Palestinian mothers are repeatedly watching their children slowly starve to death, be maimed, be killed and be buried alive, and that it is a deliberate part of Israel’s strategy physically and psychologically to destroy women and the continuity of the Palestinian people. She called this a femi-genocide. The Secretary of State has repeatedly said that the situation is intolerable, yet by failing to pull every single lever that this Government could pull, they are tolerating it. When will he stand on the right side of history and implement a full arms embargo, widespread sanctions and a ban on the import of settlement goods, and when will they fund evidence collection for prosecutions?
Mr Lammy
I stand by all the decisions we have made as a Government, which are numerous; I listed them in my statement. On the full arms embargo, I am content that we are not sending arms that could be used in Gaza. I ask the hon. Lady to look closely at the export licensing regime, because there are many things that are sent to Israel, and they are for use by NGOs in Israel sometimes so that they themselves are not injured in theatres of conflict.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Ind)
Doctors have told us that they walk into the emergency room and see, if not starved and emaciated children, tiny bodies strewn across the floor with burns, blasts and bullets, and their job is to choose which child to save and which ones they will have to let go. That is decision making. The Foreign Secretary has an option right before him to make a decision that could make a difference to those children—to protect all health facilities, with the means to do that at the UN. I trust that he will do that. Secondly, if he does not recognise the state of Palestine, there will be no state left to recognise.
Mr Lammy
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for the vision that she paints, and I associate myself with the remarks she makes in relation to children, particularly about starvation and the situation that they face. Of course we are working closely with the UN system. I spoke to Tom Fletcher at the beginning of last week to get the latest on the aid situation, and we will continue to work with him.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
The Foreign Secretary states that he believes in a two-state solution—as I have done since at least the 1973 Yom Kippur war—but that Hamas must not be a part of it. Does he agree that the best chance there ever was for the two-state solution was when Israel withdrew in 2005 from the Gaza strip? Hamas was elected in January 2006 and has been in power there ever since and is still managing to hang on. Does he accept that if ever the Government did recognise a Palestinian state, it would have to be the west bank without the Gaza strip, given the internecine slaughter between Hamas on the one hand and the Palestine Liberation Organisation on the other that followed the last withdrawal?
Mr Lammy
I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that Hamas cannot continue to govern in Gaza, and I suspect that everyone in this Chamber agrees with that. I do believe that there are prospects beyond that. Indeed, the IRA laid down its arms, and that is a template for how to demilitarise and how leaders in this circumstance can perhaps exit Gaza. However, the continued undermining of the Palestinian Authority by the Israeli Government, including the starvation of funds, is an attempt not to get to a two-state solution which all of us in this House want to see.
Dawn Butler (Brent East) (Lab)
We watch as families survey the ruins of their homes and are mocked by illegal settlers in the west bank, and we watch as a little boy looks at his dead relative, waiting for him to take another breath. I watched a mother whose baby had its leg amputated before it even got to take its first step. Where is our humanity? To have a two-state solution, we need two states. Let us recognise Palestine. Can the Foreign Secretary tell me what words I need to say to him to get our Government to take real meaningful action? Tell me what to say and I will say it.
Mr Lammy
I would say to my hon. Friend that we do need humanity, and everything that this Government have done has been to ensure that there is humanity and to ensure the dignity of the Palestinian people and the hostages that are still underground. We will continue with everything we have to get that ceasefire, and we will throw everything at it—that is what we are doing. I sense her frustration and that of many Members in the Chamber. I am as frustrated as she is, but frustration alone will not deliver what we want to see.
Manuela Perteghella (Stratford-on-Avon) (LD)
Does the Foreign Secretary agree that the Israeli Government should bear heavy consequences should they decide to proceed with the approval of the illegal E1 settlement plan in occupied East Jerusalem, which will threaten the two-state solution?
Mr Lammy
The last Government suggested back in 2014 that there would be consequences if the Israeli Government move forward with E1, so it is absolutely the case that there would be consequences if they made such a move, not just from the UK but from all international partners.
Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)
Children are being starved and shot in front of our constituents’ eyes. They are watching illegal settlers systematically and strategically undermine the Palestinian state. It is not that there is a risk of international humanitarian law being broken. International humanitarian law is being broken in front of our eyes, on an hourly and daily basis. Our constituents are asking what this Government are doing to stop it, and they are asking that because it is unbearable and they can see that the current approach is not working. We were promised more action weeks ago, but today we are still not seeing more action, so what are the Government are doing to secure accountability under international law, and when will they recognise the state of Palestine?
Mr Lammy
I thank my hon. Friend for her strength of feeling and for campaigning on and championing this issue in her constituency, but I remind her that we are supporting many groups that are on the ground in the west bank documenting expansion and violence. That work assists the United Nations and the global community.
Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)
There is a narrative around aid—we all want to see it reach the innocent in Gaza—which is that Israel is blocking it getting into Gaza. However, over recent months Israel has facilitated nearly 2 million tonnes of humanitarian aid getting into Gaza. As of this morning, 700 trucks of aid have passed from Israel and are sitting in Gaza, undelivered. Will the Foreign Secretary agree that aid is getting through, and that what needs to get better is the delivery?
Mr Lammy
I am afraid I cannot agree with that statement. I do not recognise those numbers.
Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Lab)
As I understand it, Hamas want Egypt, Qatar and the United States empowered as legal guarantors not only for a 60-day truce, but up to the signatory date of any final agreement with Israel. Can America not be prevailed upon to act as a guarantor beyond the final settlement? Hamas could be forced to reconsider their objectives under pressure from a population desperately looking for long-term security.
Mr Lammy
We are working particularly with Arab partners on this issue. Hamas have to exit—they have to step away from the governance of Gaza. My hon. Friend is right: we cannot have a pause for 60 days; we need an enduring, permanent ceasefire.
Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)
Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are being deliberately starved to death; aid convoys are coming under fire; children are being shot by soldiers; and schools and hospitals are being bombed. Can the Foreign Secretary outline what further war crimes would need to take place before the UK Government sanctioned the Israeli Government and Prime Minister Netanyahu himself?
Mr Lammy
The hon. Gentleman would struggle to point to any Government of a major G7 or European state that have done as much as we have in office. We led the sanctioning of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir specifically because of their language and behaviours in relation to the west bank. We have said that we keep sanctions under review, as he would expect.
Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)
I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement with other Foreign Ministers, urging Israel to agree to a ceasefire and humanitarian aid. I say to my right hon. Friend, who I know is entirely sincere, that Members—and, indeed, the British people—have heard urgings, demands and outrage in this Chamber, yet the situation only gets worse, with more and more Palestinians dying, each life of incalculable value. In my Adjournment debate in April, I asked what more we could do to help the Palestinian people. When the Minister responded last week, he made some useful clarifications, including that Israeli settlement goods should be labelled so that British people can decide what they are spending their money on. When it comes to the actions of the UK Government, however, I have to ask my right hon. Friend: is this it?
Mr Lammy
In some senses, that is in the hands of those who continue to prosecute this conflict. My hon. Friend is absolutely right when she says that each life is of incalculable value. I think I have made more statements on this subject than any other Minister has made statements in this House over the past year—of course, the Minister for the Middle East, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), has also made his fair share of statements. The strength of feeling is well known, and it is reflected not just here, but across the globe. The current course of the Government of Israel is bringing that country into ill repute. That is what is happening.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Ind)
Last week, in Bogotá, the Hague Group met, led by South Africa. Those nations pledged to support the ICC and the ICJ, to refuse all arms sales to Israel, to refuse the facilitation of arms to Israel, and to refuse anything that enhances the occupation of Gaza and the west bank—in short, global opinion supporting the Palestinian people. Will the British Government also sign the Hague declaration and support that group of nations, which are determined to bring the world’s attention to this, to end the genocide that is going on and the continuing occupation?
Mr Lammy
I will speak to my South African counterpart about that issue. However, I say to the right hon. Gentleman that we in the UK support the ICC—indeed, it receives funding from British taxpayers—and the ICJ, and we also stand against what we are seeing in the west bank and in Gaza, so I would say that much of what he has said is consistent with UK policy.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
On Friday, the UN reported that 800 people had been killed near aid sites in Gaza over the past six weeks. Over the weekend, yet again, 100 people died just seeking food and water. I want to ask the Foreign Secretary a question he has been asked twice before. This month he told the Foreign Affairs Committee that he would take further measures against Israel if there was no ceasefire and if the intolerable situation in Gaza continued. What exactly did he mean by that—specifically on trade, recognition and more? Our constituents want to know.
Mr Lammy
All action is under review at this time. We are pressing for a ceasefire, and our assessment is that we could see one shortly after the Knesset rises. My hon. Friend will understand that a ceasefire is our priority, as it is the single act that would stop the suffering that we are seeing in Gaza. She lists some of the actions she would expect to be under consideration with international partners. Of course, we must act internationally alongside our partners if we are to have any effect.
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
The disturbing images from Gaza lead us all to the conclusion that this war must end. However, we must remember that it was started because terrorists raped, burned and murdered people, took captives and still abuse those captives today. The war could finish tomorrow if the terrorists released those captives and agree to a ceasefire. Much has been said today about Israel trying to starve the people of Palestine, but the fact is that since the new arrangements were put in place to stop Hamas stealing aid, 82 million meals have been supplied in Gaza. Instead of talking about a two-state solution and recognising a state that does not exist—and that, if it did exist, would be controlled by terrorists—our Government should be standing by the Israeli Government, who are seeking justice for their own citizens.
Mr Lammy
I cannot agree with what the right hon. Gentleman has said, save for his remarks that the hostages must be released.
Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)
I want to gently point out to the Foreign Secretary that the reason so many of us are here is that we have been waiting a long time for this statement. With the situation unfolding, as many colleagues have said, our constituents continue to write to us. Last week, Save the Children held a photo exhibition in Parliament in partnership with Choose Love and the photographer Misan Harriman—I should declare that he is the chair of the Southbank Centre, which is in my constituency. I want to read a clip from that exhibition. A question next to one of the pictures asked:
“If you had one superpower, what would it be and why?”
The answer of the young girl in the photo was:
“the ability to change events in order to help my country to become free and help my children live in a safe environment like the rest of the children in the world”.
We are seeing children being killed while trying to access vital food and aid. We must ask ourselves: what more can we be doing? We are seeing children malnourished and starving. I ask the Foreign Secretary: where is the real action from this Government to stop that, so that more children can live?
Mr Lammy
I hear the strength of my hon. Friend’s conviction and views when she asks for more action. We are taking action—we have taken action every single day in office. British taxpayers are funding the alleviation of suffering. Is it enough? Have we brought this war to an end? We have not brought it to an end. I have to tell my hon. Friend that the UK will be unable to do that unilaterally, which is why we are working with partners internationally. I have I have done that every single day in office. Me raising my voice will not bring this war to an end. I lament that and I regret that. But am I sure that the UK Government are doing everything in our power? Yes, I am.
Chris Law (Dundee Central) (SNP)
Twenty-nine arms export licences were suspended in September due to the possible breaking of international law, yet between September and December we saw a further 34 licences. Will the Foreign Secretary explain that decision? How many licences have been granted this year? What is the UK Government’s red line for a total arms trade embargo?
Mr Lammy
Most licences are not for military use. Most do not go to Israeli authorities. Many are for civilian use, such as product testing or body armour for journalists and NGOs. I am quite sure that the hon. Member would not want us not to support those organisations. Some are for components going to Israeli companies that are then re-exported to third countries, including NATO allies.
Ms Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)
My hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) is right; we have been waiting weeks for this statement. The truth is that our constituents do not understand—and neither do we—how we can track our stolen mobile phones to China or Algeria but we cannot track F-35 components in the multimillion-pound arms trade. They do not understand why we have not reported Israel directly to the International Criminal Court for what has been happening to aid workers, and they do not understand why, given that this House voted in 2014 to recognise the state of Palestine, that has not been enacted. I hear the Foreign Secretary’s frustration, and I do not doubt his frustration with his partners, but tonight we could say, “We do not need a conference—we will recognise the state of Palestine.” Will he join us—yes or no?
Mr Lammy
Again, I understand my hon. Friend’s strength of feeling. She knows that there will be a two-state conference on 28 July, and of course we will participate. But she will have also detected that at that conference our French and Saudi Arabian colleagues are talking not about recognition but about how we get to two states and get an enduring ceasefire. It may be that as we head to September and the United Nations General Assembly the issue of recognition is raised once more.
Cameron Thomas (Tewkesbury) (LD)
Since 2023, the Israel Defence Forces have killed a record number of journalists and killed a record number of humanitarian workers. They continually murder starving children as they queue for aid. An Israeli soldier outed his commanders for their illegal orders to arbitrarily kill civilians. That is not a sequence of coincidences, but war crime after war crime and a clear message to the world: do not intervene and do not observe what we are doing to the Palestinians. The Foreign Secretary has said that he wants a two-state solution. He can take a giant leap in that direction right now with a one-word answer. Does the Foreign Secretary recognise the state of Palestine?
Mr Lammy
The hon. Member has heard what I have said about my commitment to two states. He knows that we have not yet got a ceasefire, and he knows that we are working with international partners to ensure that we get an enduring ceasefire. He knows the debate around recognition, because I have talked about it not just in Select Committees but at this Dispatch Box on many occasions.
Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)
Seventeen thousand, nine hundred and twenty-one children have been killed in this horrific war in Gaza. The Israeli army willingly opened fire on children collecting food and trying to access water. Children are literally being starved to death, and those children not killed are left with disabling injuries. I agree with the Foreign Secretary that the war in Gaza must end, but we have seen the response from the Israeli Foreign Minister—the Israeli Government are ignoring what this Government are saying. What will the Foreign Secretary do now? Is it not time for an end to all arms sales, not just some of them, and a complete ban on all settlement goods? He said that he will be part of the conference on 28 July, but he does not need a conference to recognise the state of Palestine.
Mr Lammy
I say politely to my hon. Friend that when last year some countries took a step to recognition, it did not change things on the ground. She asks with passion, what is going on? My focus is what is going on and trying to alleviate the suffering. While I recognise the debate on recognition, and we must move to recognition at the appropriate point, I say to her politely that, in terms of this conflict, I do not believe in all honesty that recognition would change the situation on the ground.
Caroline Voaden (South Devon) (LD)
Every day we see more and more reports of children being killed in cold blood while they queue for food. The horror cannot get any worse. Prime Minister Netanyahu has already rejected the statement signed by 31 countries—it did not take him long—and it is clear that he is not interested in stopping this horrific offensive. The time for words is over. The House wants to see action, with widespread sanctions, an end to all arms sales and recognition of Palestine as a state. Netanyahu deserves nothing less, and he might actually take notice if we take action. Will the Foreign Secretary consider taking more action to bring this horrific offensive to an end?
Mr Lammy
Yes to that last bit. I want to see a ceasefire in the coming days, but of course we continue to consider what further steps we can take with allies to bring the war to an end, as the hon. Member would expect.
Ruth Cadbury (Brentford and Isleworth) (Lab)
Does the Foreign Secretary accept that Israel’s plans to transfer control of the Ibrahimi mosque from the Palestinian municipality of Hebron is highly inflammatory and a violation of international law? Will the Government condemn any transfer of authority away from Palestinians and consider sanctions against the Kiryat Arba settlement municipality if it assumes such a role?
Mr Lammy
We are concerned about the statements made and the language used. We do believe that they are inflammatory and that, were that to take place, that would breach Israel’s obligations. We are looking closely at Israel’s behaviour.
Ellie Chowns (North Herefordshire) (Green)
Words do matter, but actions speak louder. What Members across the House and citizens of the country—our constituents—cannot understand is why the Foreign Secretary will not take the actions available to him to end UK complicity in this horror. A full arms embargo and an end to all military co-operation, a full ban on all settlement goods, sanctions on all those responsible for genocide, recognition of the state of Palestine—why will he not take those concrete actions now?
Mr Lammy
I reassure the hon. Lady that the UK Government are not complicit in any actions that would breach international humanitarian law. I took that step back in September alongside restoring funding to UNRWA. She asked for a full embargo. She will note that there was a judicial review of that decision, and the Government’s position was upheld. She does not want to see us or our allies weakened in other conflicts that have a direct bearing on the safety and security of the people of Britain.
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South and South Bedfordshire) (Lab)
I welcome the Foreign Secretary reiterating this Labour Government’s total opposition to Israel’s military operation, something my constituents raise with me regularly, and our shared abhorrence at the sight of children being shot at as they seek food. The Israeli Defence Minister announced his plan to forcibly transfer all Palestinian civilians in Gaza to a camp in the ruined city of Rafah, which the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has deemed a concentration camp in all but name. Does the Foreign Secretary agree that that is a completely unacceptable violation of international law that cannot go ignored, and will the Government guarantee further action against Israel if it proceeds with the plan?
Mr Lammy
Yes, yes, yes. My hon. Friend talks about the statements of Ehud Olmert. It is also right to say that others—Yair Golan, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz and Ehud Barak, the former IDF chief—have all condemned what Minister Katz has suggested, and I too condemn it wholeheartedly.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
Last week, as a Minister met Yair Golan, shaking hands, smiling and taking photographs, a Palestinian mother faced a dilemma: should she stay where she is and see the starvation of her children, or should she venture out and see the children being blown to pieces, adding to the 17,000 others who have died and the 10 a day whose limbs are blown off? These children do not need these empty words. Words will not stop their bleeding, they will not stop their killing, they will not nourish their bodies and they will not stop the tears of their mothers. I agree with the Secretary of State that even recognising the state of Palestine today would not make any difference to the children on the ground, so will he take a tangible step and propose a British-led, internationally supported hospital in Gaza, in partnership with a coalition of the willing, to provide some remnants of humanity in this darkest of hours?
Mr Lammy
Notwithstanding the huge humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place in Gaza, I am proud of the work of UK-Med, the funding we have been able to give it and the extra money that I have announced today, and that medical aid is getting through to relieve some suffering. However, the hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We will continue to do more, and I reassure him that I am working with my Jordanian counterparts, in particular, to see what more we can do to alleviate that suffering.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
Aid should be a lifeline in humanitarian crises, yet it has become a death trap for Gazans. People are starving, yet one of the only ways they can get food is to risk their lives by going to an aid distribution point run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Does the Secretary of State agree that we are seeing the militarisation of aid, and we cannot let that set a precedent? May I press him further on his conversations with the Israeli Government and the US Government on bringing the operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to an end?
Mr Lammy
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the issue of aid workers. The widespread loss of life among aid workers is a travesty. It is unprecedented. I remind colleagues of chapter 2 of “The Conduct of Hostilities”, the handbook for legal practitioners in international humanitarian law, which says that distinctions lie at the heart of international humanitarian law and requires parties to armed conflict to distinguish at all times between civilians—including, of course, aid workers —and combatants. It is a travesty what we have seen take place over the last two and a half years.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Foreign Secretary for his statement and for his thoughtful use of words on a very contentious issue. The latest reports of attacks on the Druze people indicate that hundreds of Druze civilians, including women and children, have been kidnapped, tortured, raped, executed and mutilated, with Christians suffering at their side. Despite the fact that they are fighting back, there is a real and valid fear of genocide of those people, who have a strong faith and, as such, are worthy of our protection. What can the Government and the Foreign Secretary do to secure peace and hope for those people, who are currently being targeted and need aid urgently?
Mr Lammy
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for naming the Druze, who have seen awful atrocities visited on them in the last few days, and the positions of minorities in Syria. I saw that the Pope commented—unusually, in the strongest terms—on what he has seen. I reassure the hon. Gentleman that I raised these issues with the Syrian leader myself, urged him to act and said that there must be accountability as he grips the entirety of his country. Of course, these incidents were also taking place under the Assad regime, and in some ways have been going on for a long time, but the suffering that is being wrought on minorities in Syria at this time is totally unacceptable.
Gregor Poynton (Livingston) (Lab)
The situation facing Gazans is truly catastrophic. We must secure a ceasefire as soon as possible, with all hostages freed and unhindered access to aid. Our experience in Northern Ireland shows that to build a long-term, sustainable peace we need to invest in civil society and peacebuilders, to create a consensus and to change opinions for the better. Will my right hon. Friend therefore tell us what the UK Government are doing to support the international fund for Israeli-Palestinian peace?
Mr Lammy
I reassure my hon. Friend that British taxpayers are funding NGOs that work across communities. We are supporting that work on the west bank and in Gaza. We are supporting accountability, because that is No. 1 when we look at some of the injustice being wrought. We will continue to do that work, including with the international humanitarian fund.
Ayoub Khan (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Ind)
There are no red lines. Every single allegation made by the Israeli Government about the crimes committed by Hamas has been re-enacted and executed—for example, killing of innocent people, beheading of babies, burning of babies alive, rape, and hostage-taking, including of many hundreds of doctors. Now we are actually seeing children being shot in the genitals. There are games being played by the IDF. There are no red lines. Will the Foreign Secretary please tell us from the Dispatch Box: what are the red lines? What will cause this Government to take proactive steps?
Mr Lammy
What the hon. Gentleman mentions falls into the category of the assessment that I made back in September last year that there was a clear risk of a breach of international humanitarian law. It was on that legal advice, and the quasi-legal position that I took, that I made sure that nothing we did in this country could be complicit in such action. I want to give him that reassurance. He paints a vivid picture. It is unimaginable that the suffering has gone on for as long as it has.
Alex Baker (Aldershot) (Lab)
The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached horrific levels. Israel’s aid delivery model has failed to meet humanitarian needs. As a mother, I cannot bear to watch children being murdered. My constituents cannot bear to watch. I welcome the statement, but what are the Government doing to deliver the three actions that my constituents want to see them deliver: a UN-led ceasefire, the release of hostages and a credible pathway to a two-state solution?
Mr Lammy
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning all three of those things. We are working for a ceasefire, although it is my assessment that we probably will not get one now before the Knesset rises. We are absolutely working to get the hostages out. I have called to mind opinion in Israel that wants to see a ceasefire to get those hostages out; I reminded the Israeli Government of that, and I did so again when I spoke to the Minister. The aid situation is abominable. That there are trucks waiting at the border is totally reprehensible. As I say, I am guided by the practitioners’ handbook on breaches of international humanitarian law, war crimes, the duty of care, proportionality and distinction, particularly in theatres of conflict, and I am deeply troubled that these seem to be being breached.
Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)
I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s announcement of additional aid to help the people of Gaza, but it is aid that will join the millions of dollars and thousands of trucks that are stood outside the border not being allowed into Gaza. There are 1 million children in Gaza starving to death. Palestinian children are our children. We must do everything in our power to get food to them. Some 85% of the population are facing a level 5 starvation assessment, so—please—what steps will the UK Government and the Foreign Secretary take to feed our children in Palestine?
Mr Lammy
I am grateful for the way in which the hon. Gentleman has put his remarks. He knows that in the occupied territories, Israel controls who gets in and who gets out. He knows that the last time we saw a ceasefire, we saw a rapid escalation of humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. That is far from the situation today. We were able, working with the UN system, to get some WFP trucks in—an increase over the last few weeks—and our EU colleagues have been doing a considerable amount with the Israeli Government to increase the amount of trucks. Is it sufficient? No, it is not, and we therefore remain deeply worried about malnourished children, notwithstanding the statements that have been made in this Chamber about children whose life has been taken away from them as they have waited for aid because of the system that has been put in place.
Pamela Nash (Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke) (Lab)
As the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) touched on, the situation in Gaza is all the more infuriating when we hear that the UN has three months-worth of food waiting in warehouses on the border, while it is reported that 19 people died of starvation just in the last 24 hours. I am grateful for all that the Foreign Secretary has done so far on this issue, and I know that he agrees with me that the war must end now, but what are the next actions that we need to take to make that a reality?
Mr Lammy
We have to bring about that ceasefire, and we have to do all we can to alleviate the suffering. That is what I set out in my statement today, but I remain as frustrated as my hon. Friend is that this war is not over.
Dr Zubir Ahmed (Glasgow South West) (Lab)
The Foreign Secretary has been kind enough to meet me a number of times over this year, so he knows well my constituents’ feelings about this conflict. They are concerned and disgusted by the sight of the mass killings and starvation of the Gazan people, but they are also frustrated by the lack of medical care and humanitarian aid. The Foreign Secretary knows that I have many surgical colleagues working in Gaza and who have worked in Gaza, including Dr Mohammed Mustafa, who—alongside the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Australian Government—is desperately seeking to get a maternity hospital caring for women and children into Gaza. Will the Foreign Secretary lend his support and the support of his office to this endeavour?
Mr Lammy
Yes, absolutely. I am grateful for all the work that my hon. Friend has done, and his background in medicine helps to bring these issues to public attention.
Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
According to the UN, nearly 800 Palestinians have been killed near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid points. The UK sending £129 million in aid is nearly pointless given the denial of the UN’s aid system, and Israel’s cruel blockade is choking off supplies to the people who need it and looks very much like starvation as a weapon of war. The RAF broke a previous blockade with airdrops months ago, and although we welcome the additional £40 million of medical aid that has been promised today, and today’s international statement, Israel has rejected such appeals. So I ask again, please, what are the additional steps that the Foreign Secretary told the Foreign Affairs Committee we would take to break this cruel blockade and get aid to those desperately in need?
Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend will have heard the statement that I made today on the extra steps that we are taking in terms of humanitarian aid. He will have seen the statement, made by 31 international partners, on the fact that this war must come to an end and that aid must get in. He is right to condemn the aid system. We warned Israel about reducing the aid points to four, and now we are seeing the horrors in front of our eyes. I remind Israel again about its obligations to international humanitarian law and my worry that they are being breached.
Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)
We rightly re-funded UNRWA, but since then aid has become a daily death trap and starvation is widespread. Our calls for a ceasefire only saw the last one get broken. Now, as my right hon. Friend has pointed out, the chilling order to forcibly displace an entire population of 2 million people has been condemned by ex-Israeli PM Ehud Barak. What more concrete actions are we taking to stop the man-made destruction of Gaza—35 hospitals, as well as hostages, soldiers and civilians—before our very eyes? History will not judge this well, and words are not working.
Mr Lammy
We stand with the international community in all our efforts. In terms of what comes next, we support the Arab plan. We are working with Arab partners to improve that plan and to get to the day after, which we can get to if we get that ceasefire.
Bambos Charalambous (Southgate and Wood Green) (Lab)
Gaza is facing catastrophic, famine-like conditions and people are dying in appalling circumstances. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is fundamentally failing to properly distribute adequate humanitarian aid and is turning distribution into another frontline in Gaza. What actions is the Foreign Secretary taking to ensure that UN NGOs can get into Gaza and deliver the humanitarian aid that Gazans desperately need?
Mr Lammy
I can reassure my hon. Friend that I spoke to the UN about this last week. We are working with the UN, and I was pleased that the World Food Programme was able to get some extra trucks in. We will continue to work closely with the UN, because we believe that it must be a fundamental part of the system that distributes aid to the people of Gaza.
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
I thank my right hon. Friend for his statement, and I note the agreement reached with the 30 other nations. However, as we know, Israel has already rejected it. It seems to me that Israel is becoming more and more emboldened by the lack of concrete action by the international community. While people starve or are killed while queuing for food, and while those sheltering in the Caritas Jerusalem shelter were bombed at the weekend, it really does begin to look as though there is genocide unfolding before our eyes. I realise that the Foreign Secretary will want to take a legalistic view of that, but to those of us looking at it from a moral and logical point of view, there can be no other words for it. Although I understand and I agree with the Foreign Secretary that recognising the state of Palestine will not bring this to an end, it would at least give the people of Palestine something to cling on to and some hope, so can we please not discount the opportunities to raise that issue, but advocate for it and declare that we regard Palestine as a state?
Mr Lammy
In my experience, my hon. Friend chooses her words carefully, and the whole House will have heard what she has said this afternoon. I reassure her that, in my discussions with the Jordanians, the Saudi Arabians, the Qataris, the Emiratis and the Egyptians, and indeed with Prime Minister Mustafa, we of course discuss the recognition issue, as we have been doing with our French colleagues.
Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)
The Israeli Government’s unrelenting denial of aid to civilians is turning an entire population of Palestinians to skin and bones, starving them to death. As kids die, the Israeli Government are pushing ahead in defiance with their humanitarian plan for Gaza—a plan that has been described as a “concentration camp” by the former Israeli Prime Minister. Can I press the Foreign Secretary to enforce further sanctions, and can he lay out what tangible pressure this Government are putting on Israel to stop using hunger as a weapon of war?
Mr Lammy
I reassure my hon. Friend that, as he would expect, I raise these issues with Israel on a regular basis, and I raised that issue with Israel this morning.
Tahir Ali (Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley) (Lab)
Inhumanity is a red line drawn by international law and underwritten by universal human rights. In Gaza, that red line has not just been broken; it has been ignored, betrayed and erased. The Foreign Secretary tells us that Netanyahu is not listening—in fact, he is putting his middle finger up to the UK Government. Will the Foreign Secretary send military personnel to protect Palestinians from the genocide being committed by the IDF?
Mr Lammy
I recognise the strength of feeling that my hon. Friend conveys to the Chamber. I listed all the things we are doing. I think the most important thing that the UK Government can do is press to get that ceasefire, press to get an alleviation of the suffering, and, of course, to do everything we can to see the hostages returned.
John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Ind)
I just want to be clear on the Government’s legal position. On 11 June last year, the Government reported that they saw “no serious risk of genocide” in Gaza. All this time on, and after the statements that the Foreign Secretary has made, can I be clear: is he saying tonight that the Government accept that there is a plausible risk of genocide? If he is not, will he instruct his officials to undertake an immediate review and report to Members as rapidly as possible? If there is a plausible risk of genocide, that would place legal duties on the Government—and all of us, I believe—to act accordingly. As we have seen in the past when we have had rogue states, like South Africa, the best form of bringing them to heel is financial sanctions. If the Foreign Secretary met the finance houses and banks in this country and they denied credit lines to Israeli banks, that would be probably the most effective thing we could do to bring the Israeli Government to their senses.
Mr Lammy
I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the statement I made back in September and the addendum to that statement, which set out the basis on which I have judged that there was a clear risk to international humanitarian law. He knows that the long-established position is that it is for the international courts to make any determination of genocide. Our assessment is there is a clear risk of a breach of international humanitarian law.
Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker—[Interruption.]
Cat Eccles
The people of Gaza are being starved to death despite UNRWA having enough supplies to feed the population for three months. It is not a matter of logistics; it is sheer cruelty. GHF ration centres are purposely located in the south in militarised zones with sporadic opening hours and sudden closures, leaving people with no option but to make that long journey on foot and wait many hours on the off-chance that supplies may become available—or they may be killed while trying. This is not just a genocide; it is now ethnic cleansing. When Israel’s Government are ignoring calls from 31 countries, what further action can we take?
Mr Lammy
As my hon. Friend has heard, what we are seeing is inhumane, it is deadly and it is depriving Gazans of human dignity. As she would expect, the Government, working with our partners, keep everything under further consideration.
Dr Jeevun Sandher (Loughborough) (Lab)
We see the brutality and bloodshed in Gaza every single night on our screens. It is disproportionate and horrific, and it has gone on for far too long—bombs, bullets and now the blockades. There can never be any justification for shooting people while they wait and queue for aid. I know that the Secretary of State shares my desire for peace, a two-state solution, an immediate ceasefire and the flowing of aid into Gaza. Will he share what he is doing to help achieve that?
Mr Lammy
My hon. Friend is right: there can be no justification for shooting people as they are queuing for food—none whatsoever. I reassure him that we continue to work with the UN system and with close partners like Jordan to do all we can to alleviate the suffering.