I am horrified by the scenes coming out of Rafah. The Israeli Government’s decision to launch an all-out invasion of Rafah, despite repeated warnings from it’s allies and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is deeply worrying and poses the risk of genocide. Half of all Gaza’s children are currently trapped in Rafah, where they are facing famine. Many have already died of starvation, dehydration and disease and I am gravely alarmed at Israel’s decision to close the Rafah and Karem Shalom crossing, cutting entry of aid into the area off completely. This is a clear violation of international humanitarian law and must be condemned.

I am doing all I can to push the Government to prevent the loss of civilian life and all out destruction of Gaza. The UK  must not be complicit in breaches of international law and must suspend arms sales to Israel effectively immediately. Time is running out for the people of Gaza and we must ensure that further civilian life is not lost.

Today in Parliament, I called on the Deputy Foreign Minister to place an arms embargo on Israel immediately, you can watch my full question here or read the full text and Minister’s response on Hansard here.

The situation in Rafah is volatile and I am closely monitoring updates from the region but rest assured, I will continue to push the Government to condemn Netanyahu’s actions in the strongest possible terms and move to suspend arms sales immediately.