Imran Hussain resigns as shadow minister over Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s position on Israel-Hamas ceasefire
Shadow minister Imran Hussain has quit Labour’s frontbench in protest at Sir Keir Starmer’s position on the Israel-Hamas war.
Mr Hussain’s decision will be a blow for the Labour leader, who has been attempting to hold his party together in an increasingly fractious debate over whether the leadership should back a ceasefire in Gaza.
In his resignation letter to Mr Starmer, Mr Hussain said: “It has become clear that my view on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza differs substantially from the position you have adopted.
“I believe the party needs to go further and call for a ceasefire.”
The MP for Bradford East was explicit in condemning Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel, but said the situation in Gaza was horrific.
“As I write, more than 1,400 Israeli and over 10,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in the last month,” he wrote.
“This shocking number of fatalities is set to grow as indiscriminate attacks and the siege of Gaza continues.”
Mr Hussain had been on Labour’s front bench for eight years, most recently as shadow minister for the new deal for working people.
He said he wanted to be a “strong advocate for the humanitarian ceasefire”.
“It is clear that I cannot sufficiently, in all good conscience, do this from the frontbench given its current position,” he wrote.
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Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s south
Mr Hussain said he was “deeply troubled” by Sir Keir’s comments on the war in an LBC interview last month and said the party must be vocal in calling for a ceasefire.
Sir Keir has resisted calls for a full ceasefire on the grounds it would “embolden” Hamas and allow it to carry out similar attacks to 7 October, when 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 200 taken hostage.
Instead, he has taken the same stance as the US and backed calls for a humanitarian pause to allow aid into Gaza, where the Hamas-run health ministry says more than 10,000 people have now been killed.
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‘Is ceasefire issue tearing Labour apart?’
Despite attempting to hold off further rebellions with a series of interventions last week, the leader of Burnley Council and 10 other councillors resigned from Labour over Sir Keir’s decision not to push for a ceasefire.
Afrasiab Anwar, who has been in the party for 10 years, said it had been a “really difficult decision” to leave Labour and was among those calling for Sir Keir to step down on Thursday.
It takes the total number of councillors who have resigned over the row to 50, while 18 shadow ministers have defied the official Labour position by calling for a ceasefire, as well as London mayor Sadiq Khan, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
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Sir Keir has attempted to set out his reasoning for not backing a ceasefire as the calls from within his party grow louder.
In a speech last week, in which he sought to calm tensions over his position on the conflict, Sir Keir said he “understands” calls for a ceasefire but he did not believe it was the “correct position” to take.
He said a ceasefire “always freezes any conflict in the state where it currently lies” and would “embolden” Hamas and that a humanitarian pause was the “only credible approach” to the conflict in Gaza.
“Our current calls for pauses in the fighting, for clear and specific humanitarian purposes and which must start immediately, is right in practice as well as principle,” he argued.
“In fact it is at this moment, the only credible approach that has any chance of achieving what we all want to see in Gaza, the urgent alleviation of Palestinian suffering.
“And it’s why it is also a position shared by our major allies in the US and the EU.”
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Politics
Rishi Sunak ‘deeply concerned’ about potential Israeli offensive in Rafah after Palestinians told to evacuate
Rishi Sunak is “deeply concerned” about a potential Israeli offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of Gaza.
It comes after Israel’s military told Palestinians to leave parts of the city, with the announcement appearing to signal a long-threatened Israeli ground invasion is imminent.
Hamas accepts ceasefire deal proposed by mediators – follow live
Speaking on Monday, Mr Sunak said: “I’ve been very consistent that we are deeply concerned about the prospect of a military incursion into Rafah, given the number of civilians that are sheltering there and the importance of that crossing for aid.
“I’ve made those points repeatedly to Prime Minister Netanyahu.
“The priority right now should be on all parties, but particularly Hamas, to agree to a deal to release hostages and allow more aid to go in as part of a temporary pause, which will allow us to build a sustainable ceasefire.
“That’s the best way to end the suffering. And that’s what I continue to call on all parties to do.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said an Israeli offensive “must not go ahead”, while shadow foreign secretary David Lammy called for an “immediate ceasefire” and said an Israeli offensive in Rafah “would be catastrophic”.
Israel says Rafah is the last significant Hamas stronghold but had previously paused plans to attack the city in southern Gaza so hostage release negotiations could take place.
However, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant claimed on Sunday that Hamas was not serious about a deal and the army was preparing “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah”.
On Sunday, Hamas set off rockets from Rafah towards Kerem Shalom, Israel’s main crossing point for delivering aid, killing three Israeli soldiers.
Overnight, Israeli strikes killed at least 19 people, including a baby, according to Palestinian health officials.
Follow live updates from the Israel-Hamas war
A house in Rafah was hit by Israeli strikes overnight. Pic: Reuters
Israel’s army has told about 100,000 people to evacuate eastern Rafah to a humanitarian zone designated by Israel on the Mediterranean coast.
Rafah, Gaza’s most southern city, on the Egyptian border, is where more than a million people – more than half of Gaza’s population – have taken refuge during the war that began last October.
Joining other Western nations and humanitarian organisations in urging Israel not to strike Rafah, Sir Keir said on social media: “With more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering in Rafah, an Israeli offensive must not go ahead.
“There must be an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages, and unimpeded aid into Gaza that can be delivered regularly, quickly and safely.”
Read more: Why has Israel’s offensive prompted widespread international condemnation?
People were fleeing Rafah
Mr Lammy wrote: “An Israeli offensive in Rafah would be catastrophic. It must not go ahead.
“We need an immediate ceasefire, the immediate release of hostages, and immediate unimpeded aid to Gaza.”
UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron earlier said the UK is “very concerned” about the situation in Rafah and called for Israel to “stop and think seriously” before taking further action.
Charity ActionAid said forcing Palestinians from Rafah “without a safe destination is not only unlawful but would lead to catastrophic consequences”.
They said “there are no safe zones in Gaza” and aid workers have seen some of the “most severe conditions in recent memory” with widespread disease, starvation and chaos.
People in eastern Rafah were told to move to al Mawasi, an Israeli-declared humanitarian area near the coast
Madeleine McGovern, from Care International UK, said ministers need to urgently suspend licences for arms sales to Israel to prevent an expansion of military operations in Rafah.
“It would be unconscionable for British-made weapons to be used in an assault on Rafah,” she said.
Islamic Relief warned the area where Palestinians have been ordered to move, al Mawasi, is not safe and that forcing more people there will make the humanitarian crisis worse.
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