In a scathing statement, Amnesty International’s UK chapter has termed a joint statement by the United Kingdom and 25 others calling for a ceasefire in Gaza as “empty words”.

“Empty words from the foreign secretary — the statement lacks any resolve, leadership or action to help end the genocide in Gaza,” Amnesty UK said on X, referring to David Lammy’s post.

Amnesty urged the UK government to “show real backbone by immediately halting all arms exports to Israel — whether direct or indirect — including components for F-35 fighter jets”.

It also highlighted Israel’s apartheid regime in Palestinian territories, calling on the UK to “use every political, legal, and diplomatic tool at its disposal to help end Israel’s genocide, dismantle its apartheid regime, and bring the illegal occupation to an end”.

“Without decisive action, the relentless assault on Palestinians will escalate further, with even more devastating consequences.”