Israel has gone “beyond just self-defence” as an “intolerable” military offensive continues in Gaza, Environment Secretary Steve Reed has told Sky News.
The UK has suspended trade deal talks with Israel, summoned its ambassador and sanctioned West Bank settlers in a bid to ramp up pressure on the country.
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Attacks have accelerated in the Gaza Strip and international aid has been restricted, with local Palestinian doctors claiming at least 55 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday alone.
Speaking to Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast, Mr Reed said the UK can “no longer tolerate” the situation, as he called for an “immediate ceasefire” and the return of any remaining hostages.
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The minister said: “This has gone beyond just self-defence on the part of Israel. This is an attack that we can no longer tolerate.
“We are looking at what steps we can take as a UK government in concert with our allies to encourage Israel to stop the hostilities, get round the negotiating table and bring this situation, this crisis, to a close.”
Asked if the government is considering sanctions on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the environment secretary refused to speculate. But he left the door open for further action against Israel.
Mr Reed said he hopes “what we’ve announced will already be enough”, adding: “Let’s see what happens now”.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed questions about the UK’s relationship with Israel are being met with “silence and evasion”.
He is due to table his Gaza (Independent Public Inquiry) Bill in the Commons on 4 June, which he can support with a speech lasting up to 10 minutes.
“We are witnessing a genocide, live-streamed before the entire world, and Britain’s continued military co-operation with Israel is utterly indefensible,” he said.
The now-independent MP for Islington North added: “The public deserves to know the full scale of the UK’s complicity in crimes against humanity – and we are not going anywhere until we have established the truth.”
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On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy hit out at the renewed military offensive in Gaza and the restrictions on aid to the population of the territory, describing Israel’s actions as “monstrous”.
Middle East minister Hamish Falconer called Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely to the Foreign Office to set out the UK’s opposition to Israel’s 11-week block on aid into Gaza and its escalation of military activity.
But Number 10 has faced criticism for not referring to the situation as “genocide”.
The government has always insisted that genocide is a legal term which would need to be decided by the courts.
