Lebanon: Israel Defence Forces Operations

Vikki Slade Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I recognise my hon. Friend’s engagement in and commitment to these issues. I just gently say back to him that I have met the children displaced by this escalation. We have taken urgent steps to very significantly increase the support that is being provided to them. We have done everything we can privately and publicly, in the way I have described in the Chamber over the course of the afternoon, to try to ensure that there is a genuine, meaningful ceasefire that holds and does not lead to the loss of life, whether children or otherwise. We will continue to do that.

We have changed very significantly our posture towards Lebanon in the last few months. As I said earlier, we are now one of the largest humanitarian donors. I have myself handed over equipment to the Lebanese to try to ensure that they can control the south. That is not to say that progress has been uniform. In fact, it is very clear, as my hon. Friend will have heard and as I am acknowledging, how much worse the situation has got, but we will continue to play our full role here, at the United Nations and with our counterparts in the region to try to bring about a genuine and meaningful ceasefire.

[Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)]

Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir said in the last few days on social media:

“Electricity must be cut off to Lebanon, the Zahrani River must be seized, and intensive fighting must be resumed”.

Last week, he said of Dahieh,

“flatten, flatten, and flatten again”,

and that the suburbs must be targeted. The indiscriminate targeting of Lebanese people shows what the Israelis are really trying to do. Does the Minister agree that the time has finally come for a full ban on all arms to Israel?