British MPs call on government to say if Israel is committing war crimes

British MPs have called on the UK government to say whether it has updated its assessment of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law in light of a worsening situation in Gaza, which a UN-backed assessment has found as being in a state of imminent famine. 

During a heated parliamentary debate which unfolded over two hours on Tuesday, foreign office minister Andrew Mitchell was repeatedly asked by members of his own Conservative Party and opposition parties whether the government believed Israel was committing a war crime by starving Palestinians.

The debate came a day after a UN-backed report found that 300,000 Palestinians trapped in northern Gaza are facing famine with another 1.1 million starving.

“As we debate this topic, children are starving to death in Gaza. Babies are so malnourished that Unicef says that they do not have the energy to cry,” said Labour's Zarah Sultana.

“Israel is using starvation as a weapon of war to collectively punish the Palestinian people… will the minister finally admit that officials have warned him that Israel is breaking international humanitarian law?”

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