“HOW do you sleep at night?” Foreign Secretary David Lammy was asked in the Commons today as he continued to evade calls for action on Gaza.

Suspended Labour MP Zarah Sultana told him: “Children are starving. Families have been wiped out. Hospitals destroyed. Yet the government in court claims that there is no evidence Israel targets civilians. 

“The Foreign Secretary is personally responsible and refuses to ban all arms sales to this genocidal state. So like many across Britain, I have to ask the Foreign Secretary, how do you sleep at night?” 

Mr Lammy, who had announced the suspension of talks on a new trade deal with Israel as the government’s only significant response to the horrifying scenes of starvation and bombardment in Gaza, accused Ms Sultana of “clickbait" in response.

He also announced sanctions against a handful of settlers and settler organisations active in the occupied West Bank.

Far-right Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely was also called in for a dressing down from Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer.

MPs across the Commons denounced Labour’s limited response to Israel’s actions.  

Independent MP Shockat Adam told Mr Lammy: “The Foreign Secretary talks about the suspensions of negotiations on new trade deals. Would a suspension not be more effective on existing trade deals?”

He also demanded to know why Defence Minister Maria Eagle had “partied” with Israelis last week amid the slaughter.

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said that “the UN has warned that 14,000 babies could die in the next 48 hours. Concrete action against [Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu’s murderous government is long overdue.”

Veteran Tory MP Roger Gale dubbed Israel’s actions “genocide” and said: “There are, in this house, parents and grandparents who will stand up for children anywhere in the world.

“I’m prepared to nail my colours to that mast. We have to take action. We cannot stand by.”

Fellow Tory Kit Malthouse beseeched Mr Lammy to take stronger action, saying: “Over the last few months, we’ve tried anger and outrage and got nowhere. We’ve tried shaming ministers into action and got nowhere.

“Does the front bench need us to beg for the lives of those Palestinian children before they’ll trigger this concrete action?”

And Scottish National Party Commons leader Stephen Flynn demanded that MPs be allowed to have a vote on recognising a Palestinian state and ending all arms sales to Israel.

The government signed a joint statement with France and Canada, threatening unspecified measures against Israel if it does not change course.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs that “the level of suffering innocent children being bombed again is utterly intolerable. I want to put on record today that we are horrified by the escalation from Israel.

“We repeat our demand for a ceasefire as the only way to free the hostages. We repeat our opposition to settlements in the West Bank, and we repeat our demand to massively scale up humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

“The recent announcement that Israel will allow a basic quantity of food into Gaza is totally and utterly inadequate.”

But his government has asserted in court that there is “no serious risk of genocide” in Gaza, in a case brought by the Global Legal Action Network to halt supplies of F-35 fighter parts to Israel.

Mr Lammy ducked the point entirely when challenged on it. 

As the boycott movement gathers strength, King’s College, Cambridge, has become the first Oxbridge institution to commit to divest from the arms industry as well as companies complicit in the illegal occupation of Palestine by the end of the year. 

The decision follows almost a year of sustained campaigning from campaign group King’s Cambridge 4 Palestine.  

The group said: “King’s College is the first Oxbridge institution to bring its investments in line with international law and recognise the barbarity of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people. 

“This barbarity is enabled and enacted by companies such as BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin, two of the companies in which King’s will no longer invest.”

In response to the government statement, Global Justice Now’s Tim Bierley said it “should be clear by now that Israel’s genocidal rampage on Gaza will not end without significant outside pressure,” adding: "The UK and other countries must apply sanctions on Israel urgently.

“Under international law, the UK has a duty to prevent genocide, yet it has taken no meaningful action to protect the people of Palestine. 

“Sanctions would be in keeping with the UK’s approach to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine — and would be a proportionate response to Israel’s devastating violations.

“At a minimum, this means suspending the UK’s trade deal with Israel, scrapping its shameful plans for a deeper trade agreement, and sanctioning companies involved in Israel’s genocide.”