Former minister says government should ‘stop wringing its hands’ over Gaza

A former Conservative minister has said the government should “stop wringing its hands” about the conflict in Gaza and take “positive, active steps” to enforce international law.

Kit Malthouse told MPs: “Even if you care little for the tens of thousands of dead Arabs, and the millions displaced. Even if you couldn’t give a damn for the children shot in the head, or the burning hospital inmates in northern Gaza, if your only concern is the security of Israel, can the minister see any argument to say that yet another massacre of Gazans will enhance that security in the future?

“If she can’t see any way that it can, when is the Government going to stop wringing its hands about this conflict and actually take positive, active steps to enforce international law and bring about a ceasefire?”

Get The Jewish News Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

Responding for the government foreign minister Anneliese Dodds said: “I could not disagree more with his characterisation of the UK Government’s approach.

“I just mentioned a few moments ago the engagement that has taken place, but in addition I want to be crystal clear the new UK Government has always supported international humanitarian law, that is why we have been absolutely clear from the first moment of entering office that we support the mandate of the International Criminal Court, we support the International court of justice.

“We ensured that we reviewed arms export licences as well, something that the previous government had not done, because we believed that was a legal imperative. We will continue to take action to show that UK leadership which the UK population and those globally are looking to our country to deliver.”

Securing an update on Gaza and Lebanon in the House of Commons, Labour backbencher Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough and Thornaby East) claimed images from an Israeli strike near Gaza’s al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital  “will be the abiding image of this genocide”.

He added:“The sight of a patient on an IV drip burning to death in the flames of an air strike on the tents of refugees will be the abiding image of this genocide, so the 400,000-or-so civilians left without food or supplies in northern Gaza are increasingly subject to air strike, artillery and small arms fire from Israeli forces.

“Eleven thousand five hundred children killed in Gaza in a year – that’s one classroom full of children every day for a single year – and in Lebanon we see Israeli strikes killing civilians but now we hear in addition to invading UNIFIL posts, there are reports of attacks on UNIFIL forces of a chemical nature.

“Repeated calls on Israel to “uphold their obligations has no impact” and “unless forced to change, Israel continues to commit further outrages and breaches of international law in the Lebanon, in West Bank, and its starvation and targeting of civilians in Gaza.”

Images of an attack Israel said was a  “precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a command-and-control centre” next to al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the central town of Deir al-Balah, circulated on social media, including scenes in which a child appeared to be engulfed in flames.

“Shortly after the strike, a fire ignited in the hospital’s parking lot, most likely due to secondary explosions.

The incident is under review,” the IDF’s Lt Col Shoshani wrote on X, following the attack.

Dodds said she was also “gravely concerned” to hear about attacks on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

The Labour minister said: “We were gravely concerned to hear that five UN peacekeepers have been injured by the Israeli defence forces.

“We reiterate that attacks on UN peacekeepers and UN members of staff are unacceptable. All parties must take all necessary measures to protect all UN personnel and premises, and allow the UN to fulfil its mandate.

“The UK co-signed a joint statement by 34 UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon) contributing countries condemning recent attacks, calling for such actions to stop immediately and be adequately investigated.”

Shadow development minister Dame Harriett Baldwin  raised questions about the UN’s mandate, if there are tunnels near a UNIFIL base.Dame Harriett told the Commons: “Just as aid workers are not a target, UN peacekeepers cannot be a target.

“Does the minister agree with Israel’s assessment that Hezbollah has built thousands of tunnel shafts next to the Chapter 6 UNIFIL peacekeepers?

“Has this put their mission in such grave danger that the UN must now review its mandate? This is a grave situation.

“There is no equivalence between Iran’s terrorist proxies Hezbollah and Hamas, and the state of Israel. Israel has the right to defend itself against an existential threat, but too many innocent civilians are seeing their lives lost and their lives irreparably changed.”

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller said the Government should enact the measures against Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.