“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.”
75 UK parliamentarians have written to Ed Miliband MP in a letter co-ordinated by Caabu (Council for Arab-British Understanding) and the Britain-Palestine Project. You can read the letter in full below.
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
Since the letter was sent, the following Parliamentarians have also added their names to the letter:
Callum Miller MP
Marie Rimmer MP
Rt Hon. Liz Saville Roberts MP
Llinos Medi MP
Ann Davies MP
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- This letter was taken from Caabu’s website.
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