Dear David Lammy,

I am writing as a UK citizen to express my concern at the ongoing genocide in Palestine and urge the new Labour government to take immediate action to uphold its international responsibilities and fulfil its campaign promises.

Since October, the death toll in Gaza has reached over 38,000. The damage to civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, water sanitation plants and refugee camps has been catastrophic. On 5 July, the same day that the Labour government came to power, a report in the Lancet medical journal found that, according to a conservative estimate, the number of direct and indirect deaths in Gaza as a result of the conflict could be as high as 186,000 – a truly harrowing number.

Since Labour has been in power, Israel has committed endless massacres against the people of the besieged Gaza Strip, resulting in hundreds of Palestinians being killed, with the vast majority being civilians. Israeli airstrikes recently killed around 100 in Al-Mawasi, which it designated as a safe zone and is housing tens of thousands of displaced people. It has also bombed schools and refugee camps; forced several hospitals to close and evacuate their patients; and executed hostages in cold blood – all since 5 July, when Labour came to power. This further highlights the urgency of the new government acting on what, in the words of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and many human rights organisations could constitute a genocide.

Now, as the government, Labour has a political and moral duty to uphold international law. In April, 600 lawyers, including three former supreme court justices, signed a letter stating that the UK is legally obligated to act on the ICJ’s ruling. Among the letters suggestions was a cessation of arms sales to Israel, which given the urgency of the situation, I urge you to action immediately.

You have previously criticised the outgoing Conservative government for not upholding its international obligations and have committed to making a change as Labour’s Foreign Secretary. Israel’s actions across the Occupied Palestinian Territories provide this new government with their first test on this matter and is an opportunity to break from the past and show that Labour will uphold international law.

In addition to halting arms sales, I urge you to use all diplomatic and economic measures at your disposal to pressure Israel into ending its genocidal war and securing an immediate, complete ceasefire. Additionally, the UK must drop its legal challenge, which obstructs Israeli leaders from being brought to justice by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and support South Africa’s case at the ICJ.

You have acknowledged the human cost of Israel’s war on Gaza and the need for increased humanitarian aid to support the people of the enclave, where, according to the UN, famine has taken hold. The government can easily action this concern by immediately recommencing funding to UNRWA, which was shamefully cut by the previous Tory government, and is on the ground, providing much-needed aid to the Palestinian people.

The scale of protests over the past nine months and opinion polls both suggest that the British public is overwhelmingly in favour of a ceasefire and concerned with the brutality of Israel’s actions in Gaza. As Foreign Secretary, you are in a position of great power and responsibility to enact the will of the people on the international stage. I hope that you will use this platform to take meaningful steps to end British complicity in Israel’s genocide and support efforts to bring its leaders to account.