MINISTERS backtracked on acknowledging Israel’s denial of aid to Gaza as a breach of international law today, even as the world reeled from its sudden violation of the Gaza ceasefire with massive bombing raids.

At least 400 people were killed as Tel Aviv renewed its war on the besieged Palestinian enclave, shattering a fragile truce agreed in January.

An emergency protest was organised outside Downing Street yesterday evening to demand the British government stop arming Israel.

Israel has been blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid for over two weeks after an agreement deadline for the second phase of the ceasefire expired.

On Monday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy had acknowledged that blocking aid “is a breach of international law.”

But asked whether Mr Lammy had been speaking for the whole of the Labour government yesterday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Our position remains that Israel’s actions in Gaza are at clear risk of breaching international humanitarian law.

“And we continue to call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations when it comes to humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza.”

Number 10 declined to say whether Mr Lammy had misspoken and would correct the record, insisting the “parliamentary issues” were a matter for the Foreign Office.

Earlier, Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said that Britain would not impose an arms embargo and would instead use “whatever diplomatic influence we have” to seek to restore a ceasefire.

Gaza’s Health Ministry’s Zaher al-Waheidi said at least 263 of those killed in the overnight air raids on Gaza were women or children.

He described it as the deadliest day in Gaza since the start of the war.

Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German said that the “outrageous” attack was facilitated by US President Donald Trump and PM Sir Keir Starmer, telling the Morning Star: “It’s clear that Israel’s 17-month genocide never ended.

“Trump and [Israeli PM Benjamin] Netanyahu want to ethnically cleanse not just Gaza, but the West Bank [too].

“And it’s an absolute disgrace that David Lammy only yesterday admitted that the deliberate cutting off of food and electricity is a breach of international law, despite the utter revulsion across the world at these acts.

“So, what's he going to do about it? How many more Palestinians will be slaughtered before he stops sending arms to Israel?

“That’s why we called an emergency demonstration [yesterday] evening outside Downing Street and why we will stay on the streets for Palestine, no matter what the authorities do to try to stop us.”

Amnesty International UK accused the British government of “violating its obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza” by continuing arms trade with the country.

“The UK must immediately suspend all arms transfers to Israel in compliance with its own arms export rules and international obligations,” said the group’s crisis response manager, Kristyan Benedict.

“As a matter of urgency, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court should add genocide to the list of crimes it is investigating.”

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that parents in Gaza are mourning their children because governments across the world “did not deem their lives worthy of protection.”

“They died hungry, 16 days into Israel’s total blockade of humanitarian aid,” the Islington North MP said in a statement.

“The Israeli government collapsed the ceasefire because it knew it could.

“It is killing more civilians because it knows it can. It is resuming its genocide because it has been allowed to act with impunity.”

Mr Corbyn said that the British government can “end its complicity in these atrocities at any time” by ending all arms sales and imposing sanctions.

“Its continued refusal to do is a moral disgrace,” he said.

“We must never lose sight of the Palestinian hopes and dreams being extinguished live on our screens – and we must never stop calling for the only path to lasting peace: an end to the occupation of Palestine.”

Katie Fallon of the Campaign Against Arms Trade said: “The genocidal attack that Israel has unleashed on the people of Gaza is designed to inflict maximum suffering and terror on Palestinians.

“Israel has been violating the ceasefire agreement for weeks, increasing attacks and blocking all aid for over two weeks including food and fuel.

“Our government continues to support Israel politically and militarily through arms exports, including for F-35 jets which are used to drop 2,000 lbs bombs on Palestinians.

“We demand a full two-way arms embargo with Israel. We demand an end to the UK government’s complicity in and military support for genocide, occupation and apartheid.”

Hamas said in a statement that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “and his extremist government are making a decision to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate.”

Later, Hamas official Izzat al-Risheq said in a statement that the decision to resume the war was “a decision to sacrifice the occupation’s prisoners and impose a death sentence on them.”

Mr Netanyahu ordered the strikes after “Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said “the Trump administration and the White House” had been consulted by Israel on the attacks.

The strikes came as Netanyahu faces mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests planned over his handling of the hostage crisis and his decision to fire the head of Israel’s internal security agency.

His latest testimony in a long-running corruption trial was cancelled after the strikes.

The strikes appeared to give Mr Netanyahu a political boost, with the return of far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir and his party to the coalition government yesterday.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents the families of captives held in Gaza, said the Israeli government’s decision to attack showed that it had chosen “to give up on the hostages.”

Peace campaigners also slammed the Israeli assault.

Vijay Prashad, the director of the Tricontinental Centre for Social Research, told the Morning Star the attack was “so brutal. Over 400 killed in a day. A sign of absolute vengeance for the existence of the Palestinians.”

And Margaret Kimberley, the executive editor of Black Agenda Report, said: “Israel and the US act with complete impunity as they continue to carry out a genocide and make a mockery of what passes for international law and accepted norms of behavior.”