• Envoy summoned, sanctions announced
• UN relief agency says ‘everything is empty’ in Gaza
• Israeli ground operation threat to peace efforts, Pakistan says

LONDON: Britain paused free trade talks with Israel on Tuesday, summoned its ambassador, and announced further sanctions against Jewish settlers in occupied West Bank after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was horrified by the military escalation in Gaza.

After the Israeli military’s new operation last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel would take control of the whole of Gaza.

Israel has blocked the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies into Gaza since the start of March and international experts have warned of looming famine.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the offensive was not the way to bring remaining prisoners home, called upon Israel to end the blockade of aid and condemned “extremism” in some sections of Israel’s government.

“We cannot stand by in the face of this new deterioration. It is incompatible with the principles that underpin our bilateral relationship,” David Lammy told lawmakers.

“Frankly, it’s an affront to the values of the British people. Therefore, today, I’m announcing that we have suspended negotiations with this Israeli government on a new free trade agreement.

“We are demonstrating again that we will continue to act against those who are carrying out heinous abuses of human rights,” Lammy said.

France, Canada, UK horrified

Britain, in a joint statement with France and Canada, condemned the expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and called for restrictions on aid to be lifted.

The trio said they would take “further concrete action” should Israel’s fresh offensive not cease.

“I want to put on record today that we’re horrified by the escalation from Israel,” Starmer told parliament earlier on Tuesday.

“We repeat our demand for a ceasefire as the only way to free the hostages (Israeli prisoners), we repeat our opposition to settlements in the West Bank, and we repeat our demand to massively scale up humanitarian assistance into Gaza.”

French Foreign Minister Barrot told French radio there was a growing call from some countries to review a long-standing association agreement with Israel.

50 killed in Israeli strikes

Israeli air strikes killed about 50 Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday, local medics said, as Israel continued its bombardment despite mounting international pressure to stop military operations.

The strikes fell across Gaza, and medics in the territory said that among the sites hit were two homes where women and children were among the 18 dead, and a school housing displaced families.

‘Everything is empty’

The conflict has strained Israel’s relations with much of the international community and those with its closest ally, the US, now appear to be wavering.

After Israel imposed a blockade of food and other supplies, Gaza has also been facing a critical risk of famine.

On Monday, Israel allowed nine trucks into Gaza. The UN has long said Gaza needs at least 500 trucks of aid and commercial goods every day. Throughout the conflict, trucks with aid have waited weeks and months the border to enter Gaza.

Louise Wateridge, a spokesperson for the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, said there was little food left. “Everything’s empty. The warehouses, the distribution centres, they’ve been empty for weeks,” she said.

Meanwhile, Yair Golan, a former deputy chief of staff of Israel’s military, said in a radio interview that Israel risked becoming a ‘pariah state’.

“A sane country does not engage in combat against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not pursue goals of population expulsion,” he said.

FO slams Israeli threat

Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the expansion of Israeli ground operations in Gaza, as well as its plan to “take control of all” of the territory, posed a grave threat to efforts aimed at achieving regional peace.

FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan condemned the Israeli aggression in Gaza, deliberate targeting of hospitals and mass evacuation orders. “In addition, Israel also continues to deliberately obstruct critical humanitarian aid from reaching millions in dire need, which amounts to the imposition of collective punishment on the besieged Palestinian people,” he said.

“Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and calls for the establishment of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders,” the FO added.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2025