MPs accuse Israel of seeking to repeat Gaza ‘crimes’ as Cooper warns Lebanon on brink of disaster

MPs have rounded on Israel in the Commons accusing Benjamin Netanyahu of seeking to repeat “crimes” committed in Gaza through a new ground offensive in Lebanon.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper had delivered a statement attempting to update MPs on the UK’s position in regards to the escalating situation in the Middle East.

Cooper told the Commons: “Since the start of this conflict, we have seen Iran fire over 900 missiles and over 3,000 drones across 13 countries in the region — countries that are partners with the UK and where hundreds of thousands of British citizens visit, work or live.

“Regional air defences have intercepted the vast majority of Iranian strikes, but in recent days we have seen damage to oil export infrastructure, gas facilities, ports and airports and restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz – with major consequences for the global economy and impacting on the UK economy, too.”

A succession of backbench Labour, Green and Conservative MPs then proceeded to place the blame for the escalating conflict firmly on Israel.

Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi said she was pleased Keir Starmer had not got the UK involved in “this war of choice” before condemning Israel’s “illegal bombing of Iran and Lebanon” and the closure of the Al Aqsa mosque in the month of Ramadan, as well as the continued occupation in the West Bank.

“This is a particularly pernicious and vindictive action,” the MP said of the closure of the East Jerusalem mosque, and urged Cooper to demand that Israel reopen it.

Another Labour MP, Debbie Abrahams, then suggested that “the international community’s lack of action” over Israel’s “illegal action in West Bank and Gaza” had “made this action on Iran more likely.”

Cooper responded by reminding the MP: “We also have to recognise the ongoing threats and challenges from the Iranian regime.”

Labour MP Kim Johnson also condemned what she called the “illegal war started by Israel and the US”, arguing it had “shifted focus away from the atrocities that we’re seeing happening daily in Gaza and the West Bank.”

Her colleague Melanie Ward MP said Israel’s tactics used in Gaza had been “criminal” and must now not be exported “with impunity” to Lebanon.

Sarah Smith MP also alleged that Israel was “murdering innocent men, women, children and disabled people in the West Bank” at the same time as this “war of choice ” was continuing.

The Foreign Secretary said she had raised Israel’s security decisions in the West Bank in talks with her counterpart.

Cooper also addressed MPs who raised the harrowing allegations that a 12-year-old Palestinian boy had witnessed his parents and two youngest brothers shot dead in front of him as they drove home from a shopping trip in the West Bank.

She described the incident as “deeply distressing” and called for it to be fully investigated by Israel.

Further criticism of Israel came from former Tory minister Kit Malthouse, who expressed fears that Lebanon could become a “new Gaza” if Israel’s military mounted a full ground offensive in Lebanon.

He urged Cooper to do her utmost to prevent such a scenario, asking: “How many Lebanese is an acceptable number for us to see killed over the next few weeks?”

His Tory colleague Simon Hoare also suggested Donald Trump was “increasingly erratic” and the UK was right to be skeptical of his motives.

Hoare added Trump had claimed Iranian nuclear sites were destroyed but had now backtracked on this and other claims.

He called for UK humanitarian aid to be plentiful to help ordinary Palestinians and Lebanese people under threat now.

For the Greens, Ellie Chowns accused Cooper of failing to stand up to “the aggression of Trump and Netanyahu” and said the Foreign Secretary should instead be investing in building relations with allies “we can really rely on — those who believe in human rights and diplomacy and peace.”

The independent MP Jeremy Corbyn said it was “nonsense” to suggest the UK was only engaging in defensive actions in the conflict.

Cooper countered that the UK had chosen a different path to the US and Israel, but warned that if strikes hit hotels or civilian structures housing British citizens, people “would find it extremely difficult to understand” if no action were taken.

MP Ayoub Khan then called on the UK to open negotiations with Iran.

Cooper had reiterated s that while US and Israeli strikes across Iran continued, proxy groups linked to Iran were behind “troubling escalation” in Lebanon.

The UK, Cooper added, was continuing to “defend our allies under attack.”

Cooper stressed how Hezbollah had “fired hundreds of rockets into Northern Israel” and that “the actions of this proscribed terrorist group, at the instigation of the Iranian regime, are once again drawing the people of Lebanon into a conflict they do not want.”

The Foreign Secretary, who spoke with her Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar last week, also urged Israel to refrain from launching a ground invasion in Lebanon.

She said: “We believe diplomatic progress can be made – there’s a shared interest in both Lebanon and Israel in seeing an end to the Hezbollah threats and seeing peace and stability return.”

Cooper said she was “concerned the country is on the precipice of a widening conflict that risks disastrous humanitarian consequences”, and confirmed an additional £10 million in humanitarian support for Lebanon, to provide emergency medical care, shelter and other life-saving assistance.

Many MPs also welcomed the Foreign Secretary’s pledge that “we will not be drawn into a wider war, nor will we outsource our foreign policy.”

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel urged Cooper to “confirm what assurances and confidence she gave” to Gulf administrations.

Cooper replied that the UK was providing Gulf countries “with direct military defensive support”, with F35 and Typhoons in the region.

But Liberal Democrats spokesperson Callum Miller hit out at what he said was “Trump and Netanyahu’s war, cheered on uncritically by Reform and the Conservatives”, which had “put our citizens and troops in the region under threat from Iran’s reckless retaliation.”

Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader, cited reports that the UK’s national security adviser Jonathan Powell believed Tehran’s “surprising” offer on its nuclear programme could have prevented the rush to war by Israel and the US.

She also suggested there was “no solid” evidence that Iran posed a genuine nuclear threat.

But Cooper reminded the Commons, “It is central we prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”