Palestinians who lost family members in Gaza meet Keir Starmer

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Palestinians who have “lost loved ones” in Gaza on Tuesday, saying he was “humbled by their immeasurable grief”.

This meeting was the first between a large Palestinian contingent and a British leader since Labour entered government in July.

Starmer met them in Downing Street alongside Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Hamish Falconer, the Middle East minister, and Hussam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK.

“This horrific suffering must end, there must be an immediate ceasefire, and Israel must let unrestricted aid into Gaza now,” Starmer said on social media platform X after the meeting.

The community members included those who had children and babies killed and wounded by Israel in the besieged strip.

Those attending urged the prime minister to evacuate injured children needing life-saving medical care in the form of a “Child Evacuation Scheme”.

The project would initially provide life-saving medical treatment for 15 critically injured children from Gaza, based on Ireland’s decision to take in 30 pediatric patients from Gaza. 

Under the plan, the British government would coordinate travel permits, medical visas, and safe transport, community members said.

Today @AngelaRayner and I met members of the Palestinian community in the UK who have lost loved ones in Gaza, alongside Dr Husam Zomlot, Head of the Palestinian mission to the UK.

I am humbled by their immeasurable grief.

This horrific suffering must end, there must be an… pic.twitter.com/FNP3frjYA4

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) October 22, 2024

They further called on Starmer to implement a “Family Reunification Scheme” for Palestinian refugees, noting that families have been separated by Israel’s war on Gaza, with many stranded in the enclave.

The scheme would involve a legal pathway for travel to the UK designed to model the one offered to Ukrainians after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The community members also urged the government to lobby for more aid to enter Gaza, noting that Israel is using “starvation as a weapon of war”.

“The families called for a British personnel presence at border crossings to ensure agile inspection processes and monitor and ensure that aid flows unrestricted into Gaza,” said a statement shared by the British Palestinian Families Network and The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians. 

Fresh sanctions

That same day, Starmer warned that Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure in the Black Sea are delaying aid from reaching Palestinians in Gaza.

The meeting comes three weeks after Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy hosted British relatives of Israeli captives held by Hamas.

Starmer said last week he is “looking at” sanctioning Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as well as the National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over “abhorrent” comments they made about Palestinians.

Lammy also announced fresh sanctions against three Israeli settler outposts and four organisations he said are responsible for “heinous abuses of human rights” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. 

Meanwhile nearly 50 British MPs from seven political parties so far have backed a parliamentary motion tabled last week calling for the government to take measures against Israel over its war on Gaza, in which more than 42,500 people have been killed.

The demands include: “Ending all military exports to Israel, banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements, and revoking the 2030 Roadmap which deepens UK economic, trade and security ties with Israel.”

Last month the Labour government suspended 30 out of 350 export licences for arms sales to Israel.