Keir Starmer has demanded a break in hostilities between Israel and Hamas to allow aid into Gaza as he was warned he faces the risk of frontbench resignations over the party’s stance on the conflict.
The Labour leader met around a dozen of the party's Muslim MPs in a bid to defuse tensions on Wednesday afternoon after a string of councillors quit.
In a statement this evening he warned that the amount of aid and essential utilities "getting into Gaza is completely insufficient to meet the humanitarian emergency on the ground". He said the party would support "humanitarian pauses" when hostilities are temporarily suspended so supplies can be brought in.
A source told the Mirror several frontbenchers were considering their positions, although none are believed to be a Shadow Cabinet Minister. Mr Starmer has faced an intense backlash over his remarks a fortnight ago where he appeared to suggest the Israeli government had the right to cut off power and water supplies to the Gaza Strip. He has since denied he ever backed withholding humanitarian aid and sought to clarify his remarks last week.
But around 20 councillors have quit and more than 30 Labour MPs are also demanding the party call for an immediate ceasefire as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies. More than 150 Muslim councillors from areas including Barking and Dagenham, Birmingham, Bradford, Blackburn, Bolton and Glasgow, also backed the plea for a ceasefire.
In a letter to Mr Starmer yesterday, they said: "As Labour councillors elected to serve our constituents, the message we have been hearing repeatedly over the past two weeks is simple, people just want to end the bloodshed and the loss of innocent life". "No nation, no people or community should have to endure collective punishment and the same should be the case for the Palestinian people."
As Mr Starmer held a meeting with Labour MPs on Wednesday his spokesman said: "We fully recognise that this is a very difficult time for a lot of people, there are strong feelings on all sides of the debate here and it is important that he takes the time to sit down and listen to people from all points of view, which he has sought to do throughout this process".
It came as a mosque in south Wales criticised the Labour leader following a meeting with Muslim leaders at the weekend. Mr Starmer said in a post that he was "questioned by members" of the South Wales Islamic Centre and "made it clear it is not and has never been my view that Israel had the right to cut off water, food, fuel or medicines. International law must be followed".
But in a statement published late on Tuesday, the mosque said it expressed "dismay" at the post, claiming: "We wish to stress Keir Starmer's social media post and images gravely misrepresented our congregants and the nature of the visit. "We affirm, unequivocally, the need for a free Palestine. We implore all those with political authority to uphold international law, and to end the occupation of Palestine."