Zarah Sultana

The nightmare unfolding in Gaza is a deliberate, unparalleled human catastrophe. This is not merely a crisis; this is genocide and extermination. Those are not just my words but the conclusions of the UN commission of inquiry. In northern Gaza, more than 400,000 Palestinians are trapped under relentless Israeli bombardment. Families fleeing are gunned down and so-called safe zones are turned into death traps. Children are killed on the streets, with five to nine-year-olds the most killed age group in Gaza. Families are burned alive by incendiary weapons. Hospitals, schools and refugee camps are obliterated. Since 1 October, essential aid has been blocked by Israel. Gaza is starving and its health system has collapsed. Diseases such as polio have returned, and the UN describes the situation as “apocalyptic”. The so-called humanitarian zones in southern Gaza offer no refuge. Over 1 million people are crammed into unliveable conditions. They are not evacuations; they are forced transfers and war crimes under international law. Furthermore, escape routes are bombed. People are trapped with nowhere to go. Over 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed, making return impossible. That is ethnic cleansing. Israeli officials brazenly promised it and delivered it. The International Criminal Court and UN experts also confirm it. Targeting civilians, blocking aid and destroying survival infrastructure meet the legal criteria of genocide, despite what the Prime Minister says at Prime Minister’s questions. So what has the UK done? Far from neutral, the UK is an active participant in genocide. British-made components are part of every single F-35 fighter jet raining down death on Gaza. Every single bomb dropped and every single life lost bears the stain of British support. Such complicity is undeniable. Yesterday, in a hearing at the royal courts of justice, the Government admitted two chilling facts. First, there is a clear risk that UK-made F-35 parts could be used in violations of international humanitarian law. Secondly, the Government’s own assessment, made on 24 July 2024, concluded that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law. Those admissions trigger the UK’s legal obligation under criterion 2c of the strategic export licence criteria, which states that exports cannot be allowed if there is a clear risk of misuse. Despite that, the Government have allowed exports to continue for five weeks, during which over 1,700 Palestinians were killed. The Defence Secretary has defended this carve-out for F-35s, prioritising “US confidence in the UK” over Palestinian lives. How disturbing. The UK Government have a duty to prevent and punish genocide. By refusing to act, they risk not only complicity, but criminal liability.