Parliamentarians call for further sanctions on Israel for blocking aid to Palestinians in Gaza

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  Rt Hon. Ed Miliband MP

  Foreign Secretary

  Parliamentarians call for further sanctions on Israel for blocking aid to Palestinians in Gaza

  Dear Secretary of State,

  We, the undersigned, welcome the package of measures you set out on 8 September, and in particular the Global Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026. For the first time, the UK has a global regime under which it can designate those involved in serious violations of international humanitarian law, or in obstructing the delivery or distribution of, or access to, humanitarian assistance. 

  You correctly stated that Israeli authorities had routinely blocked life-saving aid and access into Gaza, and that the new regime would allow the UK to target those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law “whether in Gaza or anywhere else in the world”. The powers now exist. We urge you to use them now, beginning with those responsible for denying and obstructing life-saving aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

  The Government of Israel has engaged in the arbitrary denial of food, medicine and fuel which is obstruction of humanitarian assistance and a serious violation of international humanitarian law.  A return to the policy of starvation of civilians is a real fear. Both are grounds for designation. The test is whether there are reasonable grounds to suspect that a person is involved. Involvement includes being responsible for such conduct, facilitating or promoting it, profiting from it, or being responsible for investigating it and intentionally or recklessly failing to do so. In November 2024, the International Criminal Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber found reasonable grounds to believe (a higher standard than the Regulations require) that the state of Israel had committed the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare in Gaza, and issued arrest warrants on that basis. In August 2025, famine was confirmed in Gaza Governorate.

  The danger has not passed. In July, the IPC projected that, even with aid, around 1.4 million people, two-thirds of Gaza’s population, would face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse through December. Without food assistance, the figure would rise to around 1.9 million, or 90 per cent. That assistance is shrinking. On 19 October, the World Food Programme announced that funding shortages had forced it to cut the number of people receiving support from 1.6 million to 1.1 million and to halve rations. On 16 October, UNICEF warned that the Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin could be drained within two weeks, but that the Israeli authorities had not allowed the necessary equipment in. Without this, sewage-contaminated water could flood residential areas. UNOCHA estimated that 950,000 displaced people were living in sites at medium or high risk of flooding, and that available shelter supplies could only partly assist 18 per cent of the families needing winter support. As food aid contracts, every blocked consignment matters more.

  The danger is compounded by the Israeli authorities excluding the organisations that deliver aid inside Gaza. They have revoked the licences of 37 international NGOs, including Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, CARE and the Norwegian Refugee Council, from 1 January 2026 for refusing to hand over personal details of their Palestinian staff; registration can also be refused on political grounds, such as alleged “delegitimisation” of Israel. The Israeli government claims that the affected groups bring in less than 1 per cent of the aid entering Gaza. But UN figures show that international NGOs run or support 60 per cent of Gaza’s field hospitals and every stabilisation centre for severely malnourished children, that 132 of its 195 cooked-meal points depend on them, and that one in three health facilities would close without them. In May, Israel’s High Court upheld the regime and gave the organisations until 21 June to comply or cease operations. The UK joined 20 other countries and the EU in calling that decision deeply concerning. UNRWA, the largest aid provider in Gaza, has been blocked since March 2025 from bringing its own staff and supplies into the Strip, even though the International Court of Justice advised a year ago that the state of Israel must agree to and facilitate relief by the UN and its entities, including UNRWA. Excluding the organisations that feed, treat and supply water to Gaza’s civilians is obstruction of humanitarian assistance by administrative means. Designations must follow the evidence wherever it leads. That must include those Israeli officials who direct or enforce arbitrary restrictions on food, medicine, fuel, shelter and drainage equipment; groups that have blocked, attacked or looted aid convoys; those who incite or promote the denial of aid to civilians; and members of Hamas or any other armed group who divert or interfere with assistance intended for civilians. Applying the law even-handedly is what will give these designations their authority and legitimacy.

  We therefore urge the Government to:

   1.   Make the first designations before winter sets in. Treat cases relating to aid obstruction in Gaza as a priority for assessment, and announce the first designations within weeks rather than months.

  2.   Use the urgent procedure where allies have already acted. The Regulations allow immediate designation of persons already sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, Australia or Canada for comparable conduct. Tzav 9, listed by the EU since July 2024 for repeatedly blocking aid trucks carrying food, water and fuel to Gaza, is an obvious case. Where an organisation is itself involved, consider designating its members by description.

  3.   Secure the supplies that sanctions alone cannot deliver. Press the Israeli government to admit food, medicines and medical equipment, fuel, durable shelter materials and drainage equipment, starting with the equipment needed at Sheikh Radwan. Obtain prompt decisions on delayed or refused consignments, including civilian equipment restricted on security grounds, with practical safeguards for any substantiated concerns. Secure sufficient crossing capacity, predictable opening hours and safe routes, and ensure UN agencies, including UNRWA, and humanitarian organisations can operate with the staff permissions they need.

  4.   Fund the response. Announce an additional UK contribution and mobilise other donors to restore food assistance and sustain water, health and winter shelter services. Sanctions, access and funding must work together if aid is to reach families.

  5.   Designate those responsible for blocking humanitarian organisations. Confirm that the deregistration of international NGOs and the restrictions on UNRWA and other intergovernmental organisations fall within the scope of the Regulations as obstruction of humanitarian assistance. Then designate the ministers, officials and other politicians who have designed, promoted or enforced these measures.

  The measure of success will not be the number of names on a list, but whether Palestinian families in Gaza have enough to eat, safe water, and shelter that keeps out the rain. The Regulations give Britain the power; using them before winter is the test of its will. Gaza’s families cannot wait for the floods to make a desperate situation worse.

  Yours sincerely,

  Rt Hon. Alistair Carmichael MP

  Rt Hon. Diane Abbott MP

  Shockat Adam MP

  Lord John Alderdice

  Rushanara Ali MP

  Tahir Ali MP

  Paula Barker MP

  Lorraine Beavers MP

  Apsana Begum MP

  Baroness Natalie Bennett of Manor Castle

  Siân Berry MP

  Lara Bird MP

  Richard Burgon MP

  Ruth Cadbury MP

  Lord Michael Cashman CBE

  Sarah Champion MP

  Rt Revd. Dr. Guli Francis-Dehqani, Lord Bishop of Chelmsford

  Bambos Charalambous MP

  Dr. Ellie Chowns MP

  Rt Hon. Jeremy Corbyn MP

  Marsha De Cordova MP

  Carla Denyer MP

  Lord Alf Dubs

  Neil Duncan-Jordan MP

  Colum Eastwood MP

  Sorcha Eastwood MP

  Cat Eccles MP

  Baroness Julie Elliott of Whitburn Bay

  Josh Fenton-Glynn MP

  Richard Foord MP

  Gill Furniss MP

  Andrew George MP

  Rt Revd. Rachel Treweek, Lord Bishop of Gloucester

  Claire Hanna MP

  Lord John Hendy KC

  Chris Hinchcliff MP

  Baroness Sheila Hollins

  Adnan Hussain MP

  Imran Hussain MP

  Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece

  Baroness Barbara Janke

  Kim Johnson MP

  Ayoub Khan MP

  Baroness Helena Kennedy of The Shaws LT KC

  Lord John Kerr of Kinclochard GCMG

  Ben Lake MP

  Baroness Ruth Lister of Burtersett

  Rt Hon. John McDonnell MP

  Rt Hon. Lord Tom McNally

  Rachael Maskell MP

  Charlie Maynard MP

  Abtisam Mohamed MP

  Iqbal Mohamed MP

  Lord Shaffaq Mohammed

  Layla Moran MP

  Tessa Munt MP

  Rt Hon. Baroness Lindsay Northover

  Lord Jonny Oates

  Brendan O’Hara MP

  Dr. Simon Opher MP

  Kate Osamor MP

  Manuela Perteghella MP

  Yasmin Qureshi MP

  Adrian Ramsay MP

  Vikki Slade MP

  Cat Smith MP

  Hannah Spencer MP

  Baroness Shas Sheehan

  Lord Indarjit Singh of Wimbledon CBE

  Alex Sobel MP

  Rachel Taylor MP

  Tony Vaughan MP

  Rt Hon. Lord William Wallace of Saltaire

  Rt Hon. Baroness Sayeeda Warsi

  Nadia Whittome MP

  Andy McDonald MP

  Callum Miller MP

  Marie Rimmer MP

  Rt Hon. Liz Saville Roberts MP

  Llinos Medi MP

  Ann Davies MP