Iqbal Mohamed

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing this important debate. I begin with a harrowing quote from a father in Gaza speaking to aid workers: “Bread has become a dream. On the fourth attempt, I finally got flour—but only by stepping over bodies of people who died trying to reach the same bag I held in my hands.” Those words are not simply tragic; they are a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict—a cost borne disproportionately by those who have no choice and no voice in the halls of power. More sobering is the fact that this situation is not an unavoidable tragedy. It is a deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war. It is a campaign of mass killing. It is a war crime. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned us plainly: “We are failing the people of Gaza. Inaction is not an option.” Yet we sit in our homes in our country, with a Government choosing to look away. I ask our Government and the Minister: has Israel really desisted? Has it responded to any of the steps that the Government have taken? It has actually increased the atrocities and the number of people being killed on a day-to-day basis, using all means available. I end by asking the Government: will we stop looking away? Will the Government finally demand and enforce a permanent ceasefire, ensure the protection of civilians and ensure unhindered access to aid? Will we—