07-05-2025
British Israelis urge Government to act on Gaza starvation
The petition, launched via non-profit ActionNetwork, was accompanied by a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy containing detailed reference to Israel's use of starvation and aid blockades as an illegal weapon of war.
Starmer and Lammy were urged to end the UK's trade and partnership agreement with Israel until it allowed 'food and medicine into Gaza in significant quantities'.
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The letter said: 'We are watching in horror the images coming from Gaza of malnourished babies and children.
"Since the 2nd of March 2025, Israel's hard-right government has banned all aid from entering the Gaza Strip.
"This hermetic siege is by far the longest and harshest ever to be imposed on the Strip.'
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government were referred to as 'the most extreme in Israel's history', noting that hostages from the October 7 attack have also been affected by the famine imposed on Gaza.
Yair Wallach, an associate professor at SOAS University of London, urged other Israelis in the UK to sign the petition, writing on social media platform Bluesky that "pleading with Netanyahu's rogue government will not do".
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Palestinians are becoming increasingly desperate as a result of Israel's assault on Gaza, with the United Nations saying what little food is left in supermarkets is unaffordable for most and that 80% of the population are dependent on the contents of aid trucks stuck at the border.
New plans were announced earlier this week regarding the seizure of the Gaza Strip, which would see hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced and forced into the south, worsening the already dire humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
At least 61 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since this morning, with the total death toll since October 7, 2023, sitting at over 52,000.