Slaughter must end

Lammy slams Israel for killing hungry children, Urgent call to bans arms sales as deaths soar

- CHRIS HUGHES and LIZZY BUCHAN

WITH the quest to find food turned into a potential death trap for desperate Gazans, David Lammy has demanded Israel justify its lethal attacks at aid points.

The Foreign Secretary called for an end to the slaughter in the Strip amid the deadliest days so far for hungry Palestinians - at least 61 were killed yesterday and 80 on Sunday near centres meant for humanitarian relief.

But Lammy came under pressure to ban all arms sales to Israel as the Israel Defence Forces launched a major push into central Gaza, and the World Food Programme warned 90,000 women and children face starvation.

The UN agency accused troops of using tanks, snipers and other weapons to fire on a crowd seeking aid from the US and Israeli-backed delivery system.

Lammy said: "I utterly condemn the killing of civilians seeking to meet their basic needs.

"The Israeli government must answer what possible military justification there can be for strikes that have killed desperate, starving children.

"What immediate actions are they taking to stop this litany of horrors? And what will they do to hold those responsible to account?

"The Israeli aid system is inhumane, it is dangerous and it deprives Gazans of human dignity.

"It's a grotesque spectacle wreaking a terrible human cost."

Lammy told MPs in the Commons yesterday that nearly 1000 civilians have been killed since May while seeking aid in Gaza, with daily reports of Israeli troops opening fire on people trying to get food.

He warned it is also putting at risk the lives of the remaining hostages snatched in the Hamas Israeli raids on October 7, 2023. There are believed to be 20 of the 50 still alive in the Strip.