Corbyn challenges UK government over Gaza aid blockade

• Jeremy Corbyn urged Britain to deliver humanitarian aid directly to Gaza if ‘Israel’ continues restricting supplies.
• He called for an inquiry into Britain's involvement in the bombardment, including weapons supplies and the sharing of security information.
• The government described Gaza's humanitarian situation as “heartbreaking” and said it was pressuring ‘Israel’ to allow aid deliveries.

British MP Jeremy Corbyn has called on the UK government to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Gaza directly if ‘Israel’ continues to block deliveries, while demanding an inquiry into Britain's involvement in the bombardment of the Palestinian territory.

Speaking in parliament, Corbyn said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had left the international community “appalled and disgusted”, pointing to Palestinians dying from hunger, shortages of medicine and the lack of humanitarian assistance, as well as severe flooding affecting displaced families.

He urged the government to work with other countries to deliver aid directly to Palestinians if the ‘Israeli’ government refused to allow sufficient supplies into the territory.

Corbyn also called for an investigation into Britain's role in the war, specifically its alleged involvement through the supply of weapons and security information to ‘Israel’.

“Will he also support an inquiry into our participation in the bombardment of Gaza through the supply of weapons and security information to Israel, so the truth can be told about the horror the Palestinian people have faced and continue to face?” he asked.

The government representative acknowledged that conditions in the territory remained “heartbreaking”, saying Britain was continuing to pressure the ‘Israeli’ government to permit the entry of humanitarian supplies and lift restrictions on aid deliveries.

The representative also pointed to sanctions imposed in connection with settlements in the occupied West Bank, arguing that these measures were intended to preserve the possibility of a two-state solution. The government said it would continue with its existing approach while awaiting the outcome of negotiations following the ‘Israeli’ general election.

Gaza's flooding crisis

Corbyn's intervention comes as heavy rainfall and flooding have further worsened conditions for displaced Palestinians ahead of winter.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), storms that hit Gaza from Nov. 6 caused widespread flooding, damaged shelters and humanitarian facilities, and disrupted essential services across the territory.

More than 26,000 households had appealed for assistance by Nov. 8 after their shelters or belongings were damaged. Humanitarian partners estimated that more than 6,000 family shelters had been destroyed and another 17,400 damaged.

The flooding also proved deadly. OCHA reported that an infant drowned at a displacement site, while five Palestinians, including three children and two women, were killed when a sandy embankment collapsed onto tents near Deir al-Balah.

The UN said humanitarian stocks of tents, blankets, tarpaulins and clothing inside Gaza were nearly exhausted, despite more than 150,000 tents purchased by humanitarian organisations and member states waiting outside the territory to be brought in. It said additional ‘Israeli’ approvals were urgently needed to allow shelter supplies, water pumps and heavy machinery into Gaza.

The destruction of Gaza's infrastructure has compounded the impact of the storms, leaving municipalities struggling to drain floodwater amid shortages of fuel, functioning pumps and heavy equipment. Damaged sewage networks have also increased the risk of contaminated water reaching displacement camps.

Read more: Eight Palestinians killed in Gaza over past 24 hours: Health Ministry