Turning tides? Israel's allies are finally criticising its war on Gaza

"Our best friends in the world—senators I know as strong supporters of Israel—have warned that they cannot support us if images of mass starvation emerge," he said. "We must avoid famine, both for practical reasons and diplomatic ones. Without international backing, we won't be able to complete the mission of victory."

"Truth be told, until the last of the hostages returns, we should also not let water into the Gaza Strip. But the reality is that if we do that, the world will force us to halt the war immediately, and to lose," Smotrich said. "We are disassembling Gaza, and leaving it as piles of rubble, with total destruction (which has) no precedent globally."

Toughest criticisms yet

Yet, judging by the growing unease among Western leaders at Israel's obstinacy, Western allies who have previously been staunch supporters of the Jewish state are voicing their toughest criticisms yet. This week, Canada, France and the UK joined forces to warn Israel that they will take "concrete actions" if it continues with its "egregious" expansion of military operations in the enclave. In a joint statement, the three countries' three leaders called on the Israeli government to "stop its military operations" and "immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza".

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Canadian Premier Mark Carney and French President Emmanuel Macron publicly condemned Israel's policies in Gaza, declaring the "denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law". They added that the level of suffering in Gaza was "intolerable".

They also condemned "the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli Government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate".

"Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law," they added. "We have always supported Israel's right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate.*

Further evidence that world leaders are becoming increasingly angered by Israel's approach to the Gaza conflict emerged after the UK announced it was suspending talks on a free-trade deal with Israel and announced sanctions against West Bank settlers.

Read more: Israel under mounting international pressure to let aid into Gaza

At the same time, the UK Foreign Office summoned Israel's ambassador to raise its concerns. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that the government was also considering imposing sanctions on ministers, saying: "We keep these issues under review." The UK's Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer will also tell the Israeli ambassador to the UK, Hotovely, that "the 11-week block on aid to Gaza has been cruel and indefensible", Lammy added.

UK officials said they were drawing up plans with other countries to impose sanctions on Smotrich, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, and Israel Katz, the defence minister, among others.

Lammy condemned as "monstrous" calls from Israeli cabinet ministers for Gaza to be cleansed, describing the comments as repellent and extremist.

He said Israel's refusal to allow thousands of aid lorries into Gaza was an "affront to the values of the British people" and accused the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "isolating Israel from its friends and partners around the world". Lammy's comments represent Britain's strongest condemnation of Israel since the war with Hamas started in 2023.

The European Union is also to review a pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel due to the "catastrophic" situation in Gaza, the EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said after a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers. A clear majority of EU member states have backed a Dutch proposal to review the bloc's trade deal with Israel. For his part, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said his country doesn't trade with a "genocidal state".

A frustrated Trump

And, in a sign of the increasing international pressure on Israel to end hostilities in Gaza, even US President Donald Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, is reportedly growing frustrated by what he sees as Israel's refusal to end the war. While the White House is reluctant to criticise the Israelis in public, Trump is said to have told his officials he expects Netanyahu to "wrap up" the war. The president is said to believe the distress in Gaza has reached unacceptable levels and has been upset by images of children suffering.

For the moment, the Netanyahu government remains defiant, insisting it will continue with its military offensive to destroy Hamas. But if international pressure continues to mount, Netanyahu may soon find he has no alternative but to call a halt to hostilities.