This Eid millions face annihilation and starvation – Muslim Aid demand change at Parliament

While families around the world gather in celebration, millions in Gaza, Sudan, and beyond are fighting for survival. For them, Eid comes not with joy, but with hunger, displacement, and the echoes of bombs.

Gaza: a horror the British government must act upon

Since October 2023, Muslim Aid and our partners have delivered lifesaving food, medicine, and shelter to over 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza, many of them children, elderly, or disabled by war.

But this lifeline is being deliberately sabotaged, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food has said. Moreover, outrage has been expressed and calls made for independent investigations after a series of recent aid worker killings, some captured on film.  

In the run up to the 10 holiest nights in Ramadan, culminating in a big Eid celebration, Israel violated the ceasefire and reimposed its blockade, preventing lifesaving aid from flowing through, directly defying international humanitarian law and orders issued by the International Court of Justice on averting genocide.

Despite Israel’s lack of adherence to international law and warnings from the United Nations and other global humanitarian organisations, the UK government continues to push surveillance flights over Gaza that enable and aid military operations perpetuating humanitarian disasters instead of humanitarian relief.

This is in stark contrast to British public opinion which shows:

• 73% oppose the US president’s proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians, in what has been described as an act of ethnic cleansing. 
• 84% believe ICC arrest warrants for war crimes must be respected.
• 73% demand an immediate ceasefire—including 67% of 2019 Conservative voters.

Despite these numbers, the British government remains complicit, demonstrating the stark difference between the policies of those in power and British public opinion.

On Monday, Muslim Aid attended parliament, staging an event in which we called on MPs present to help us continue our work in Gaza and drive for accountability.

Muslim Aid Chair, Mustafa Faruqi, called for MPs to help humanitarian workers do their work by urging the UK government to “stop selling arms to governments that will use them on civilians, aid workers and journalists. Arrest and support the prosecution of those wanted for war crimes. Enforce the ceasefires and United Nations resolutions. And sanction those who illegally occupy others’ lands and prevent the delivery of aid.”

Taking this fight to parliament

While the government enables war, the British public wants peace, echoing the demands of humanitarians in the UK and around the world. The actions of many in government remains out of touch, making advocacy critical. We support the efforts of those MPs who are pushing for meaningful action. At the event co-hosted by the Council for Arab and British Understanding (CAABU) on Monday, Muslim Aid called for:

• An end to UK complicity in Gaza’s siege.
• Accountability for violations of international law.
• Urgent funding for Sudan. 
• Protection for humanitarian workers and journalists.
• Halting arms sales to governments who use them on civilians.
• Arresting and supporting the prosecution of those wanted for war crimes.
• Enforcing the ceasefire and UN resolutions.

History weighed heavily in UK Parliament, the very institution that betrayed the Palestinian people when it endorsed the Balfour Declaration and now continues to send arms as Gaza is annihilated. 

This Eid, Muslim Aid and CAABU want to turn grief into action by demanding the UK finally uphold its moral and legal obligations to protect Palestinian people.