Britain faces pressure to suspend arms sales to Israel following international outcry against plans to take over Gaza City
Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, August 7, 2025
PRESSURE mounted on Britain yesterday to follow Germany’s lead in suspending arms sales to Israel, amid international outcry against Israeli ministers’ plans to take over Gaza City.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Israel’s decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong and urged the Israeli government to reconsider.
His failure to respond with action, however, despite warnings of more destruction and suffering, was branded “unconscionable” by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
PSC director Ben Jamal said a full occupation would “mean the slaughter of thousands of Palestinians and ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands from their land.
“Those already facing starvation, due to Israel’s blocking of aid, will now be pushed further to the brink by the full siege of the city.
“It is unconscionable that in the face of such an egregious announcement of a planned crime against humanity, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer can only muster the words that this plan is ‘wrong,’ while taking no action to stop it.
“Our government must stop arming Israel, end all military co-operation, end all trade with Israel and introduce a full body of sanctions on this genocidal state.”
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities,mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAVote Labour for Genocide.
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Israeli opposition leader and parliament (Knesset) member Yair Lapid in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024,[ Jack GUEZ / AFP /Getty Images]
Israeli opposition leaders on Friday condemned the government’s decision to occupy Gaza City, calling it a politically motivated disaster that endangers lives and undermines Israel’s security, Anadolu reports.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of capitulating to the extremist demands of far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
The criticism from Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, comes after Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan by Netanyahu to occupy Gaza City.
“In complete contradiction to the opinion of the military and security ranks, without considering the erosion and exhaustion of the fighting forces, Ben Gvir and Smotrich dragged Netanyahu into a move that will take months,” said Lapid.
He added that this will “lead to the death of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost tens of billions to the Israeli taxpayers, and lead to a political collapse.”
He warned that Israel will be “trapped in the field without a goal, without defining the picture of the day after, in a useless occupation that no one understands where it is leading.”
Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, warned that the Cabinet’s move goes against professional military advice.
“The decision made by the Cabinet, contrary to the professional stance of the chief of staff who warned of the many dangers such a move would bring, proves that life-and-death decisions are being made in opposition to security considerations and the war’s objectives,” he said.
“The Oct. 7 prime minister is once again sacrificing the security of Israeli citizens for the sake of his seat,” Lieberman added.
Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats party, called the decision “a disaster for generations.”
“Its implication, a death sentence for the hostages and more bereaved families,” he warned.
“All of this is for reasons of political survival and messianic visions,” Golan said, emphasizing: “We must intensify the struggle. Toppling this government will save lives.”
Israel has been facing mounting outrage over its destructive war on Gaza, where more than 61,200 people have been killed since October 2023.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
Injured Palestinians receive medical treatment in al-Shifa Hospital after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid trucks at al-Rashid Street in Gaza City, Gaza on February 29, 2024. (Photo: Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Israel deliberately targeting civilians after starving them is a gross violation of international humanitarian laws and our humanity,” said Oxfam. “The risk of genocide is real.”
Israeli forces on Thursday opened fire on a crowd of desperate and starving Gazans waiting for food aid in the enclave’s north, which Israel’s military has cut off from humanitarian assistance almost entirely for months.
The attack reportedly killed more than 100 Palestinians and wounded over 700, further straining Gaza City hospitals that are barely functioning after Israel’s monthlong bombing campaign and blockade, which has restricted the flow of fuel, medicine, and other necessities.
The massacre helped push the death toll from Israel’s nearly five-month war on Gaza above 30,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
“We are devastated by the 30,000 killed—and this is not just a number,” Melanie Ward, CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians, said in a statement. “Every single life taken was a person with dreams and hopes for the future, left loved ones behind with no time to mourn their death. One in every 23 people has been killed or injured in Gaza. Everyone has been tragically affected in so many ways, including our own dear staff; their lives will never be the same again.”
One eyewitness who was wounded by Israeli fire in Gaza City on Thursday told The Associated Press that he and others went to Gaza City’s al-Rashid Street after hearing there would be a food delivery. The man, identified as Kamel Abu Nahel, told the outlet that “we’ve been eating animal feed for two months.”
“He said Israeli troops opened fire on the crowd, causing it to scatter, with some people hiding under cars,” AP reported. “After the shooting stopped, they went back to the trucks, and the soldiers opened fire again. He was shot in the leg and fell over, and then a truck ran over his leg as it sped off, he said.”
Medics who arrived on the scene described terrible carnage, with hundreds of people lying on the ground dead or wounded. Donkey carts were used to carry some of the wounded off to hospitals, as there weren’t enough ambulances available.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told Reuters in response to reports of the Gaza City massacre that “there is no knowledge of Israeli shelling in the area.” One unnamed Israeli source told the news agency that IDF soldiers shot at “several people” in the crowd who allegedly “posed a threat.”
The IDF also claimed in a statement that “dozens were killed and injured from pushing, trampling, and being run over by the trucks.”
B’tselem, an Israeli human rights group, said in response that “whether they were shot or trampled to death, intentionally opening fire at civilians is a severe violation of international law and constitutes a war crime. This is especially grave given a crowd of thousands begging for aid.
“They mixed the aid with our blood”.
Wounded Palestinians who arrived at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia reported that Israeli forces targeted them while they were waiting for food aid deliveries early this morning near al-Rashid Street, south of Gaza City pic.twitter.com/KKrVeJJ9la
The humanitarian group Oxfam International said it was “appalled” by Israeli attacks on people waiting for aid, which has become almost impossible to deliver across much of the Gaza Strip amid relentless Israeli bombing and targeting of aid workers.
“Israel deliberately targeting civilians after starving them is a gross violation of international humanitarian laws and our humanity,” Oxfam added. “The risk of genocide is real.”
Malnutrition and infectious diseases are spreading rapidly across Gaza as Israel continues to impede aid shipments, blatantly violating the International Court of Justice’s binding interim order. Save the Children said last week that families across Gaza have been forced to “forage for scraps of food left by rats and eating leaves out of desperation to survive.”
“All 1.1 million children in Gaza are now facing death by starvation and disease as aid delivery is impossible to carry out safely,” said the humanitarian group.
Volker Türk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said in a speech Thursday that “there appear to be no bounds to—no words to capture—the horrors that are unfolding before our eyes in Gaza.”
“Since early October, over 100,000 people have been killed or wounded. Let me repeat that: about one in every 20 children, women, and men, are now dead or wounded,” said Türk. “At least 17,000 children are orphaned or separated from their families, while many more will carry the scars of physical and emotional trauma life-long.”
Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, August 7, 2025
