Israel has gone “beyond reasonable self-defence” in its attack on Gaza, a Labour frontbencher has said, as the party prepares for a potentially difficult Commons vote on the crisis later this week.
Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said it was possible that Israel had broken international law in its military campaign, which has killed more than 28,000 people in Gaza since the 7 October massacre of Israelis by Hamas.
Streeting said Labour had yet to decide how it would respond to an Scottish National party-led motion on calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which is due to be debated on Wednesday.
He told Sky News: “We want to see a ceasefire, of course we do. And we have been increasingly concerned, as the wider international community has been, with the disproportionate loss of civilian life in Gaza.
“Israel has a responsibility to get its hostages back, every country in the world has a right to defend itself. But I think what we have seen are actions that go beyond reasonable self-defence and also call into question whether Israel has broken international law. The ICJ [international court of justice] are now investigating and we take all of that seriously.”
Asked if he thought Israel had gone beyond what was proportionate, Streeting replied: “I think, objectively, yes, Israel has gone too far. And we have seen that with a disproportionate loss of innocent civilian life.”
Labour has thus far refused to call for an immediate ceasefire, using slightly more cautious language about the need for an end to fighting that would be sustainable.
However, as the death toll in Gaza has mounted, and with a number of Labour MPs openly calling for a ceasefire, the party’s stance has gradually shifted, with Streeting’s comments among the toughest yet.
Speaking to the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, Keir Starmer said the “fighting must stop now” in Gaza, and he warned Israel not to extend its military offensive to the southern city of Rafah.
In another interview, with Talk TV, Streeting said Labour was considering its options on the SNP vote.
He said: “We’ll see what the final motion looks like. We’re considering our own options on this – we all want to see a ceasefire. We’ve seen an intolerable loss of innocent civilian life during the course of this war. But we’re not going to be pushed around by protesters, and we’re not going to be told what to say by our opponents in parliament either.”
In a vote on a similar SNP motion in November, in the form of an amendment to the king’s speech, 56 Labour MPs defed the party whip to back it, with eight frontbenchers stepping down to do so, including Jess Phillips.
Streeting told Times Radio that Labour had “taken a lot of criticism within the Muslim community certainly, but also more broadly” over its position.
He said: “I am not the only person in this country who has shed tears looking at images of the bodies of children and innocent civilians coming out of Gaza. So I understand why people are vocal in calling for a ceasefire.”
