The horrors inflicted on children on and since 7th October 2023 have undermined our shared humanity. After 17 months, Palestinians in Gaza are still facing carnage – with Israeli attacks overnight killing more than 400 children, women and men.
1,200 Israeli and foreign nationals, including 36 children, were killed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups during the horrific October 7th attacks. 252 people were taken hostage. Last month, we learned that the last 2 Israeli child hostages to be returned – Ariel and Kfir Bibas – had been killed in captivity. The UK Government has rightly responded with unequivocal condemnation and demanded the hostages be released. We call in the strongest possible terms for the perpetrators to be held accountable.
But nothing can begin to excuse the campaign of atrocities Israel has unleashed on Palestinians in Gaza. Unrelenting bombardment of civilian areas has killed at least 17,800 children and left thousands more with life-altering blast injuries. Numbers so big to comprehend, that we risk losing sight of the children behind them. Children like 4-day-old twins Asser and Ayssel, killed while their father was out registering their births.
For 16 months, Israel deprived Palestinian children of sufficient access to the basic means of survival - including food, water, medicine, fuel, and shelter - through its prolonged siege and systematic denial of humanitarian assistance. After a 6-week respite during the recent pause in hostilities, when the flow of aid improved significantly, that progress has been cruelly snatched away by the reimposition of the siege earlier this month. Gaza now has the highest rates of child malnutrition globally according to the World Food Programme. Almost the entire population of Gaza – 90% - has been forcibly displaced. 92% of homes and 96% of schools have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli airstrikes, and the entire healthcare system has been eviscerated.
These atrocities are now spilling over into the West Bank, where Israeli forces have committed unlawful killings, forcibly displaced 40,000 civilians, carried out airstrikes on civilian infrastructure, and laid siege to hospitals and refugee camps. Israeli tanks are now rolling into the West Bank for the first time in more than 2 decades.
Every child’s life is equal and precious. The laws that exist to protect them are universal and non-negotiable. The UK is legally – and morally – obliged to always uphold them. There is a particular onus on the UK as a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) – the body charged with upholding international peace and security – and, in this case, because of its close partnership with Israel.
Instead, the UK Government has allied itself to Israel’s atrocities. It has enabled attacks on civilians by continuing to approve the supply of British-made parts for F-35 fighter jets – despite acknowledging the clear risk that they are being used to commit violations of international law. Children, who are 7 times more likely to die from blast injuries than adults, are disproportionately the victims of these UK-facilitated atrocities. Bombs dropped from these planes are blowing their limbs off and penetrating their small bodies with shrapnel.
The UK Government has provided diplomatic cover to the Government of Israel through its repeated failure to fully condemn Israel’s conduct of hostilities. When in opposition, the Prime Minister even justified Israel’s right to cut off food and water into Gaza – despite this being a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.
Ministerial statements often fall short of acknowledging basic reality - while civilians in other conflict zones have been killed, Palestinians have “lost their lives” – let alone demanding accountability. This is despite compelling evidence that Israel has committed war crimes – including the use of starvation as a weapon of war - and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The International Court of Justice has concluded that there is a plausible risk of genocide being committed by Israel.
Despite this, the UK Government has failed to meaningfully support international investigative and accountability mechanisms into alleged crimes and violations. Instead, Ministers have publicly pre-empted the findings of the world’s highest courts in relation to the most serious international crimes.
This stands in stark contrast with other contexts where the UK Government is doing the right thing – condemning atrocities, taking meaningful steps to try and protect civilians, and actively supporting international justice mechanisms. “I could not see atrocities such as these, and shrug my shoulders”, said the Foreign Secretary, speaking of the current horrors in Sudan and eastern DRC. And the UK has consistently delivered sustained and strong leadership on justice and protection for Ukrainian civilians.
Ministers’ double standards send a devastating signal: Palestinian children’s lives are not worth protecting in the same way as others. At a time when the rules-based order is facing an existential threat, the UK Government is perpetuating impunity and further undermining the rule of law. This not only makes Palestinian children less safe – it makes children everywhere less safe.
With Israeli bombs once again raining down on Gaza and evidence of escalating crimes and violations by Israeli forces in the West Bank, this must be a re-set moment for the UK Government’s approach.
The UK must finally end its complicity, demand that all perpetrators be held accountable for crimes committed and prioritize the protection of children from further atrocities.
A lasting peace – for both Palestinians and Israelis – will only be possible if there is justice.
