Catholic peace movement Pax Christi is calling on the UK government to stop supplying arms to Israel as Gaza's humanitarian crisis continues to escalate.
It comes after 600 lawyers, including three former Supreme Court justices, warned ministers they may be in potential breach of international law. They argue that the export of weapons to the country "falls significantly short" of the government's obligations to prevent the "plausible risk of genocide" posed by Israel, as determined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the 7th of October, 2023, while millions face extreme food insecurity due to the conflict and aid restrictions.
Pax Christi is urging its supporters to write to their MPs, calling for the end of the supply of arms to Israel, an immediate and permanent ceasefire, free and complete access of aid into Gaza and the release of all hostages.
A number of donor countries, including the UK, suspended funding to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) following allegations that some of its workers were involved in the October attacks on Israel. The campaign group is also asking for the UNWRA to be refunded.
An excerpt from the letter reads: "The Prime Minister continues to assert that' Israel must act in accordance with International Humanitarian Law' without any sense that his comments are redundant if, as seems to be clear, international law has already been, and continues to be, broken.
"Pax Christi is calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire; the end of the supply of arms to Israel; the refunding of UNWRA, the free and full access of aid into Gaza and the release of ALL hostages."
