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LONDON: The British government says it is suspending exports of some weapons to Israel because they may be used to break international law.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Monday (Sep 2) there is a “clear risk” some items could be used to “commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
He told lawmakers the decision related to about 30 of 350 export licenses to Israel, and was not an arms embargo.
Britain is among a number of Israel’s longstanding allies whose governments are under growing pressure to halt weapons exports because of the toll of the 11-month-old war in Gaza.
Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant on Monday criticised Britain’s decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel saying on X he is “Deeply disheartened to learn of the sanctions placed by the UK government on export licenses to Israel’s defense establishment.”
Hamas’s October 7 attack which started the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to tallys based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s military campaign against Hamas has so far killed at least 40,786 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
Israelis were gripped by grief and fury on Sunday after the military said the bodies of six hostages, all captured alive during the October 7 attack, were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Monday on X that Britain’s decision on arms exports “sends a very problematic message to the terrorist organization Hamas and its agents in Iran”.