A senior UN official warned that 14,000 babies face death in the next 48 hours in Gaza, as Israel’s most ardent backers finally issue unprecedented condemnations of its ongoing genocidal actions in the region.
As famine conditions worsen across Gaza, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher told the BBC that the current aid allowed by Israel is a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for the population’s needs.
“There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them,” he said.
The harrowing images of starvation and the looming famine appear to have pushed Israel’s international allies to breaking point.
In a significant move, the UK suspended talks on a trade deal with Israel, summoned the Israeli ambassador, and imposed fresh sanctions on West Bank settlers.
During a heated parliamentary session where MPs shouted genocide, Foreign Secretary David Lammy described Israel’s attacks on Gaza as “morally unjustifiable” and “monstrous.”
Lammy said Mr Netanyahu’s government was “isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world, undermining the interests of the Israeli people and damaging the image of the state of Israel in the eyes of the world.”
Israel’s goal is to “conquer, clear, and stay”
Lammy specifically referenced comments by an Israeli minister who said Israel will be “cleansing Gaza,” “destroying what’s left,” and relocating Palestinians to third countries.”
“We must call this what it is,” Lammy told MPs. “It is extremism, it is dangerous, it is repellent, it is monstrous, and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms.”
Lammy was referring to a speech by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is defending Israel’s strategy of mass devastation and starvation in Gaza.
He admitted that humanitarian aid is only being allowed in “so the world does not stop us and accuse us of war crimes.” The goal, he insisted, is to “conquer, clear, and stay.”
“We are dismantling Gaza, leaving it in ruins with unprecedented destruction, and the world still hasn’t stopped us,” Smotrich said.
Joint ultimatum from Western allies
Lammy’s comments followed an unprecedented joint statement from Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, threatening Israel with Sanctions.
It called Israel’s attacks in Gaza “wholly disproportionate.”
The three leaders warned: “If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.”
Their statement also urged Israel to halt settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling them “illegal” and undermining “the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
The coordinated move marks a significant shift in policy and distances the three Western nations from US policy, which continues to firmly back Israel despite growing humanitarian concerns and public pressure.
Growing domestic pressure
Meanwhile, pressure on the UK government continues to mount over its arms exports to Israel.
Sixty-five signatories from nine different political parties and independent parliamentarians signed an open letter demanding full transparency and the immediate release of the UK government’s assessments on the risk of genocide in Gaza. The UK has a binding duty to prevent genocide if there is a “serious risk” that it is taking place.
The letter also expresses alarm at the government’s position in the London High Court hearing on UK arms exports to Israel.
Prominent signatories include Baroness Kennedy, Kit Malthouse, Baroness Warsi, Jeremy Corbyn, Alistair Carmichael, and Carla Denyer.
Image credit: David Lammy ©House of Commons
