Labour frontbenchers quit to back Gaza ceasefire motion

Three Labour shadow ministers have quit their positions to vote for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war.

Afzal Khan, Paula Barker and Yasmin Qureshi were among dozens of Labour MPs thought to have backed an SNP motion to that effect.

They did so in defiance of leader Sir Keir Starmer, who instructed them to abstain.

He has instead backed "pauses" in the conflict to deliver aid.

In a statement, Sir Keir said Israel had suffered "its worst terrorist attack in a single day" at the hands of Hamas on 7 October.

"No government would allow the capability and intent to repeat such an attack to go unchallenged," he added.

"Since then, we have also seen an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Gaza."

"At every stage during this crisis, my approach has been driven by the need to respond to both these tragedies."

"I regret that some colleagues felt unable to support the position tonight. But I wanted to be clear about where I stood, and where I will stand".

Another shadow minister, Imran Hussain, quit his position last week in order to campaign for an immediate ceasefire.

In a Commons vote, MPs voted 293 to 125 to support an SNP motion calling for "all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.

A full breakdown of the vote - including the number of Labour rebels - is expected later this evening.

Nearly 70 Labour MPs have defied their leader to call for a ceasefire now, and nearly 50 councillors have resigned from the party over the leadership's position on the war.

Sir Keir has argued that a ceasefire would not be appropriate, because it would freeze the conflict and embolden Hamas.

Instead, Labour, like the Conservative government, the United States and the European Union, is calling for "humanitarian pauses" to help aid reach Gaza.