Sir Keir Starmer has sought to clarify remarks he made about Israel’s decision to limit supplies to Gaza after they sparked concern and even resignations among Labour councillors.

The Labour leader reiterated today that Israel had a “right to self-defence”, but said that did not mean it should withhold humanitarian aid to Gaza, which is home to 2.2 million civilians.

In the immediate days after Hamas launched its surprise attack on 7 October, Sir Keir gave an interview to LBC in which he appeared to suggest that Israel had a right to limit essential supplies, including water and electricity, to Gaza.

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In the widely shared clip, the Labour leader was asked what a “proportionate” response would look like, to which Sir Keir replied that responsibility “lies with Hamas” and that Israel “has the right to defend herself”.

Presenter Nick Ferrari interjected: “A siege is appropriate? Cutting off power, cutting off water?”

The Labour leader replied: “I think that Israel does have that right. It is an ongoing situation.”

He added: “Obviously everything should be done within international law, but I don’t want to step away from the core principles that Israel has a right to defend herself and Hamas bears responsibility for the terrorist acts.”

Sir Keir’s comments sparked criticism among some Labour councillors, several of whom resigned over his remarks – including Amna Abdullatif, the first Arab Muslim woman elected to Manchester City Council, Russell Whiting in Colwick, Nottinghamshire, and Mona Ahmed, a Labour councillor in Kensington and Chelsea.

A source with knowledge of the situation told Sky News that councillors wanted an apology and retraction from Sir Keir and that the anger was “palpable”.

This morning a number of pro-Palestine activists held a protest outside the Labour Party’s headquarters in London over Sir Keir’s previous comments.

But speaking today, the Labour leader denied he had suggested withholding supplies was appropriate, saying: “I know that LBC clip has been widely shared and caused real concern and distress in some Muslim communities so let me be clear about what I was saying and what I wasn’t saying.

“I was saying that Israel has the right to self-defence, and when I said that right I meant it was that right to self-defence. I was not saying that Israel had the right to cut off water, food, fuel or medicines.

“On the contrary. For over a week now, I have been leading the charge calling for that humanitarian aid to come in.

“We all know there are innocent civilians in Gaza in a humanitarian crisis, a million children that aid urgently needs to get in.

“So I was saying yes, they have the right to self-defence – that right they do have – but not the right to withhold that humanitarian aid that needs to get in. It is now absolutely urgent.”

In a bid to address the concern, Sir Keir wrote to Labour councillors earlier this week in which he expressed sympathy for the situation of civilians living inside Gaza.

In the letter, seen by Sky News, the Labour leader said Gaza was facing a “humanitarian emergency”.

“This is an urgent situation and innocent Palestinians need to know the world is not simply watching, but acting, to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe,” he added.

The discontent felt among some councillors is understood to be shared by some Labour MPs, a number of whom backed an early-day motion in parliament calling for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.

Sky News has seen a letter written to MPs by Labour’s chief whip, Sir Alan Campbell, in which he tells them to be cautious about going to vigils related to Palestinians.

Sir Alan said “colleagues should use their own judgement about whether or not to attend” community events and vigils.

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But he said MPs should be “especially careful not to put themselves in a position where they could be seen to share a platform with, or are close to, people that would undermine the Labour Party in any way”.

In a sign of possible discontent with the positions adopted by the government and Labour, 59 MPs have now signed an early day motion calling for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas.

Both the Tories and Labour have dismissed calls for a ceasefire.

In response to a question from the SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, the prime minster said Israel has a “right to defend itself, to protect its people and to act against terrorism and ensure that the awful attack we’ve seen from Hamas cannot happen again”.