London: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has refused to be drawn on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
It follows comments from Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, that the international community needs to “act now” to “prevent genocide” in the Palestinian enclave.
Fletcher also told the UN Security Council that Israel has been “deliberately and unashamedly” blocking aid from entering Gaza.
Starmer was asked by Sky News at a press conference following a new set of agreements with the EU if he believes genocide is happening in Gaza.
He did not answer the question directly, but said it is a “really serious, unacceptable, intolerable situation.”
His words were echoed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who was also in attendance and called for the “unacceptable” blockade by Israel to be “lifted now.”
The Genocide Convention defines genocide as the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” including acts such as killings, causing physical or mental harm, or creating conditions in order to destroy an identified group.
