Israel-Gaza latest: UN says no aid distributed so far as UK condemns Israel over ‘monstrous’ blockade – UK Times

The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it agreed with Israel to allow delivery of urgent humanitarian aid from the Gulf country to Gaza, the state news agency WAM reported.

We will bring you more details when more information becomes available.

Britain has issued fresh sanctions against Israel over its “morally unjustifiable” escalation of violence in Gaza, and demanded an end to its “cruel and indefensible” 11-week block on humanitarian aid.

Foreign secretary David Lammy condemned the “monstrous” situation as the UN warned that 14,000 Palestinian babies could die by Thursday unless action is taken to ease the crisis, which has left civilians severely malnourished.

He announced the suspension of trade talks with Israel, imposed sanctions on three individuals and four entities involved in the settler movement, and said Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions were “wholly disproportionate” and “utterly counterproductive”.

The UN’s humanitarian chief has warned 14,000 babies in Gaza could die within 48 hours if more aid does not enter the territory.

Tom Fletcher said five aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday, a “drop in the ocean” after an 11-week blockade by Israel, and were yet to reach the communities in need.

“There are 14,000 babies that will die in the next 48 hours unless we can reach them,” he said.

“We run all sorts of risks trying to get that baby food through to those mothers who cannot feed their children right now because they’re malnourished.”

The Foreign Office announced new sanctions against West Bank settlers in “response to the persistent cycle of serious violence” in the region.

Mr Lammy condemned the actions of “extremist” settlers in the West Bank, saying Mr Netanyahu’s administration has a responsibility to intervene to halt their actions.

The measures announced on Tuesday include financial restrictions and travel bans. They cover prominent settler leader Daniella Weiss and two other individuals, as well as two illegal outposts and two organisations that the Foreign Office said supported, incited and promoted violence against Palestinian communities.

Ms Weiss, a target of the sanctions who the government described as a “high-profile extremist settler leader”, was a key focus of the recent Louis Theroux BBC documentary Settlers, which shone a light on the tactics of Israeli settlers in the Palestinian West Bank.

The measures follow a dramatic surge in settler violence in the West Bank, with the UN recording over 1,800 attacks by settlers against Palestinian communities since 1 January 2024.

As the UN warned that 14,000 babies risked death from malnutrition by Thursday without urgent aid, there was a sense that, by the time foreign secretary David Lammy got to his feet, it was already too late and not enough.

As David Lammy announces the suspension of trade talks with Israel and new sanctions over the Gaza humanitarian crisis, political editor David Maddox explains why action wasn’t taken sooner:

The Israeli army will expand its military operations in the Gaza Strip and will capture additional territory, its chief said on Tuesday.

“We are acting according to a structured plan and moving to the next phase. Hamas will pay the price for its defiance… We will expand our manoeuvre, capture additional territory, clear and destroy the terrorist infrastructure until its defeat,” Eyal Zamir said in Gaza during a field tour.

The announcement comes as international condemnation of Israel’s latest bombardment and blockade of the strip grows.

The European Union’s top diplomat has said that there would be a review of the bloc’s trade agreement with Israel amid the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza.

Kaja Kallas said a “strong majority” of EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels favoured such a review of the EU’s association agreement with Israel in the light of events in Gaza.

“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The aid that Israel has allowed in is of course welcomed, but it’s a drop in the ocean. Aid must flow immediately, without obstruction and at scale, because this is what is needed,” Kallas told reporters.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, speaking in parliament, welcomed the EU decision and said 17 out of the 27 member states had backed the move.

EU sanctions on violent Israeli settlers have been prepared but have so far been blocked by one member state, Kallas added, without naming the country.

After the UK announced a suspension of trade negotiations with Israel, charities have urged the government to go further.

Hannah Bond, co-CEO of ActionAid UK, welcomed the “long-overdue announcement” of fresh measures, but said there was “no excuse for the UK to refrain from going much, much further”.

“The Foreign Secretary rightly described the situation in Gaza as intolerable and abominable – so why is the government allowing weapons partly made in the UK to continue to wreak death and devastation on Palestinians, including women and children?” she said.

“ Until the UK halts all arms exports to the Israeli government, it remains at risk of complicity in the egregious violations of international humanitarian law taking place.

“Any further delay is unconscionable and indefensible. The government must take further action immediately to pressure the Israeli authorities to allow sufficient humanitarian supplies into Gaza and put a permanent end to the war, and it must do everything in its power to hold all those responsible for atrocities and human rights violations to account.”

No humanitarian aid has been distributed yet in the Gaza Strip, the UN has said.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that despite more supplies being dropped off on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing on Tuesday, none have reached the starving population.

“Today, one of our teams waited several hours for the Israeli green light to access the Kerem Shalom area and collect the nutrition supplies. Unfortunately, they were not able to to bring those supplies into our warehouse,” Dujarric said.

Israel allowed limited aid deliveries to Gaza to resume on Monday after an 11 week blockade