Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is facing a fresh diplomatic and political backlash after saying he had heard accounts of medicines being blocked from entering Gaza and children dying while waiting for life-saving treatment.
Israel's Foreign Ministry responded publicly on X, accusing Miliband of relying on “stories” rather than facts and insisting that there are no restrictions on medicines entering the territory.
View this post on X
The row intensified when US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee launched an extraordinary attack on the British Government, saying: “The Brits have lost it.”
View this post on X
Critics on social media have called for Miliband to be removed as Foreign Secretary, although Ayes To The Right has not found a prominent serving British MP who has publicly called for his resignation specifically over this latest video.
Miliband describes Gaza accounts as ‘horrific’
The controversy began after Miliband published a short video following a meeting with people who had been in Gaza or were working on the ground.
He said what he had heard was “horrific” and referred to accounts of medicines being blocked and children dying while waiting for vital treatment.
Miliband said the accounts demonstrated why the UK Government needed to “act and act more decisively than we have”.
The Foreign Secretary did not identify in the video which medicines he was referring to or provide detailed evidence for each individual account.
Israel Foreign Ministry issues public rebuke
Israel's Foreign Ministry responded directly to Miliband in a post on X.
It said: “If the Foreign Secretary were interested in facts rather than stories, he would know that there are no restrictions whatsoever on the entry of medicines into the Gaza Strip, and that no medicines are being blocked.”
The ministry said 22,500 tons of medical supplies had entered Gaza since the ceasefire began and that 200 Gazans had left the territory for medical treatment during the previous two weeks.
It also pointed to Britain's participation in the International Gaza Support Center, which helps coordinate medical aid.
The Israeli ministry concluded by accusing Miliband of giving greater weight to politics than facts.
UN evidence complicates Israel's blanket denial
Israel's assertion that there are no restrictions whatsoever on medical supplies is disputed by United Nations and World Health Organization reporting.
In a briefing on 1 September, the World Health Organization said critical laboratory and diagnostic supplies were still not being allowed into Gaza and called for the “unimpeded and expedited entry” of essential medicines and medical supplies.
OCHA told the UN Palestinian Rights Committee on 2 September that humanitarian organisations continued to face constraints on bringing certain items into Gaza.
Earlier WHO reporting also documented delays and restrictions affecting equipment classed as dual-use, while noting serious shortages of essential medicines inside the territory.
That does not independently verify every account relayed by Miliband, but it means the wider dispute cannot safely be reduced to a simple finding that either side's full description has been conclusively established.
Huckabee launches extraordinary attack on UK Government
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee backed Israel's criticism and went considerably further.
Responding on X, Huckabee wrote: “The Brits have lost it.”
He then accused the British Government of “Jew hate” and said its position recognised neither boundaries nor facts.
The language is highly unusual from a senior US diplomat towards the government of one of America's closest allies.
Miliband himself is Jewish and is the son of Jewish refugees, a fact noted in reporting of Huckabee's intervention.
Tories already warning over Miliband's Israel policy
The latest dispute lands against a backdrop of mounting Conservative criticism of the Burnham Government's approach towards Israel.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Tom Tugendhat warned this weekend that further measures against Israel could damage Britain's national security because of the importance of Israeli intelligence cooperation to the UK.
He said Israel had been one of Britain's most important intelligence partners for many years and argued that weakening the relationship could make it harder to protect British citizens from terrorism.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has separately accused the Government of an “excessive focus” on Israel and Palestine and has argued that Israeli intelligence has helped save British lives.
Neither Tugendhat nor Badenoch has, on the evidence currently available, called for Miliband to resign over his latest Gaza video.
Foreign Secretary preparing ‘comprehensive reset’
The clash comes only days after Miliband told Parliament that the Government was preparing a “comprehensive reset” of UK policy towards Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The Government is considering measures aimed at preventing British companies from financing, constructing or advertising settlements, with further announcements expected in the coming weeks.
Israel has warned that it will respond if Britain introduces additional measures.
Relations between London and Jerusalem deteriorate
The latest exchange is therefore about considerably more than one social-media video.
Relations between the UK and Israel have deteriorated sharply, with disputes covering Gaza, West Bank settlements, sanctions and Britain's wider diplomatic approach to the conflict.
Miliband's comments have now produced a direct accusation from the Israeli Government that Britain's Foreign Secretary is ignoring facts, while a senior US diplomat has openly accused the British Government of hostility towards Jews.
At the same time, UN humanitarian agencies continue to report restrictions and shortages affecting parts of Gaza's health system, complicating Israel's categorical rejection of Miliband's broader claim.
The political pressure on Miliband is likely to continue as the Government prepares its next measures against Israeli settlements and opposition parties sharpen their scrutiny of Britain's rapidly changing Middle East policy.
Sources
- Israel Foreign Ministry: response to Ed Miliband on X
- Times of Israel: Israel and Mike Huckabee respond to Miliband
- United Nations/OCHA: humanitarian situation briefing, 2 September 2026
- United Nations Geneva briefing: WHO on medical supplies in Gaza, 1 September 2026
- The Independent: Tom Tugendhat warns over UK-Israel security relationship
- GOV.UK: Ed Miliband statement on Israeli E1 settlement project