Sadiq Khan has put Sir Keir Starmer under pressure this morning, as he became the most high-profile Labour politician to demand a ceasefire.
The call for an end to bombing is the latest chapter in Labour’s internal Palestine row, after in a week in which Sir Keir fought to stop his party from splitting apart.
In a video to his Twitter account this morning, the Mayor of London said the “terrible situation” in Gaza looks set to deteriorate further and will lead to a “devastating loss of life”.
He said he joins “the international community in calling for a ceasefire”, though no such consensus exists.
However the mayor said Israel has a “right to defend itself”, though warned it must not “break international law”.
“It’s becoming impossible for aid to reach the people who desperately need it. Substantial military escalation is now likely, which will only deepen the humanitarian disaster.
“I join the international community in calling for a ceasefire. It would stop the killing and would allow vital aid supplies to reach those who need it in Gaza.”
Mr Khan added that “Londoners are struggling right now, and I share in that pain”.
The statement heaps pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who has spent the week resisting demands from his party’s left-wing MPs to join calls for a ceasefire.
Nearly one in four of his MPs have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, with 49 signalling such support.
This includes frontbenchers, with rumours some may be planning on quitting over the row.
Sir Keir’s current position is that he backs humanitarian “pauses”, designed to allow aid to enter Gaza, allow civilians to flee and release hostages stolen by Hamas after their attack on October 7.
However, the Labour Party currently argues that calling for a complete ceasefire would deny Israel its legitimate right to pursue Hamas after the terrorist group massacred around 1,400 of its citizens earlier in the month.
Sir Keir has also been hit with around two dozen councillor resignations over his pro-Israel stance, and seen other Labour officials in Scotland quit en masse.
While Labour HQ might be hoping for a reprieve to the internal party warning now MPs have returned home for recess, those hopes may prove flawed.
Some MPs have said they’ve received over 1,000 emails from constituents about the conflict, local pressure that will only feel more acute while in their constituencies over the next week.
150 councillors jointly signed a letter to Sir Keir and Angela Rayner demanding Labour backs a ceasefire.
Sadiq Khan’s intervention was met with outrage from some quarters, who said he should focus on his day job of preventing children dying on the streets of the capital.
Lord Austin, a former Labour MP, tweeted that the Mayor “can’t stop kids killing each other on the streets of London, yet thinks he can provide useful advice on the most complicated and difficult conflict in the world”.
