Corbyn and new independent MPs urge Labour to act on Gaza

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and four other independent MPs have warned Labour against maintaining the UK's objection to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) application seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a letter issued on Monday to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Corbyn emphasised the UK's obligations to Palestinians under international law.

These obligations, listed by the group of MPs, include ceasing arms sales to Israel, restoring funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), dropping any objection to the ICC's case against Netanyahu, recognising a Palestinian state and sanctioning Israelis involved in the war on Gaza, among other demands.

"Gaza's Ministry of Health holds the death toll since October at 38,000. However, a study published in the journal The Lancet estimates that even a conservative measure of the death toll in Gaza could exceed 186,000," the letter reads.

Read more: Corbyn and new independent MPs urge Labour to act on Gaza