LONDON: UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Monday night said Israel had committed “a breach of international law” after it prevented aid from reaching Gaza over the past fortnight.

“Israel quite rightly must defend its own security. But we find the lack of aid — it’s now been 15 days since aid got into Gaza — unacceptable, hugely alarming and very worrying,” he said.

“We would urge Israel to get back to the amount of trucks we were seeing — way beyond 600 — so Palestinians can get the necessary humanitarian support that they need at this time.”

It is the first time since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, that the UK has explicitly accused Israel of breaking international law. 

Lammy previously said Israel had “no excuse” for withholding humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, and last year suspended 30 arms export licenses to the country over concerns that they could be used to breach international law.

He also said the UK would cooperate “100 percent” with the International Criminal Court in November after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.