Lisa Nandy refuses to say whether she believes Israel has breached international law

Twenty trucks with essential humanitarian aid have now entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing – but aid organisations warn much more is needed

Lisa Nandy has refused to say whether she believes Israel has broken international law by blocking off water and power supplies to Gaza.

Israel cut off electricity supplies and deliveries of food and medicines to Gaza after the attacks by Hamas on October 7, something the UN has branded “beyond catastrophic”.

A convoy of 20 trucks with humanitarian aid have now entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing from Egypt, but humanitarian organisations warn more is needed.

Shadow International Development Secretary Lisa Nandy. Image: Press Association.

Israeli warplanes have struck targets in Gaza overnight, along with two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank that is allegedly being used by militants.

There is also speculation Israel is on the verge of launching a ground offensive into Gaza as tens of thousands of troops and tanks are massed at the border.

On top of this there are still hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza despite an evacuation order - this complicates any ground attack and risks triggering a broader war with Hamas’s allies in Lebanon and Syria.

Lisa Nandy, the shadow international development secretary, was asked three times during an appearance on BBC Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg if she believed Israel had broken international law by doing this.

Damaged buildings in the northern Gaza Strip, taken from Sderot in southern Israel. Image: Jack Guez/Getty Images.

Ms Nandy said: “I think this is an extraordinarily complex and fast moving situation and there are 200 hostages.

“Israel has the right to self-defence and a duty to secure the release of hostages, but we have to ensure international law is upheld.

“In the last 24 hours we have seen water, medicine and food entering Gaza in a very limited supply, but hopefully we will be able to amplify and scale up these efforts urgently because we only have a very small window.”

After being asked the question for the third time, she said: “I’m not going to sit in the studio and tell you I will make big pronouncements about what Israel is and isn’t doing in what is a difficult situation.

“Israel is still having rockets fired against its own people from a terrorist organisation and there are 200 hostages sitting in basements in Gaza that haven’t been released.

“We need to make sure international law is upheld - that’s why the 20 trucks yesterday were welcomed, but not sufficient.”

She warned there is a “humanitarian catastrophe looming for the people in Gaza”.

Ms Nandy then said should the Labour Party win the next general election, their vision would be for a two state solution where Israelis and Palestinians live “peacefully side-by-bide”, but added: “That seems like a very distant prospect indeed.”

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick was also on the programme and said the current UK Government believes in a two state solution as well.

Mr Jenrick said: “I think the UK has a role here as a very close friend and supporter of Israel and a number of other countries in the region, but the first step is for Israel to secure its borders and degrade and eradicate Hamas, and they need to do that in a surgical way that respects the civilian population in Gaza.

“After that, we want to work towards a world with two states free of the tyranny of Hamas.”

He added it is “impossible” to achieve peace in the region when Hamas is in power in Gaza and is “dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jewish people”.

Mr Jenrick added the UK Government is working with both the Israeli and Egyptian governments to get British nationals out of Gaza, and to get essential humanitarian aid in.

He was also asked if the UK would accept refugees fleeing the conflict in Israel and Gaza in a similar way to the Ukrainian resettlement scheme.

Mr Jenrick said: “I don’t think the first step the UK should take when there is a humanitarian conflict is to reach for migration as the solution.”

The immigration minister added the UK Government’s first priority is working with Egypt to get British nationals out of Gaza.