Councillors leave Labour over Gaza war stance

Eighteen UN and other humanitarian organisations are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as demonstrations against the war take place across the world. Here in the UK, the Labour Party is losing councillors for reasons relating to the conflict. Here's more on the story.

Eleven councillors have left the Labour Party. Among them is the leader of Burnley Council. They say it's because of Keir Starmer's reluctance to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Their joint statement said the Labour leader "either cannot or will not heed our concerns or acknowledge the sentiments within our communities".

Labour are backing the UK government's calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting for aid to reach Gaza. Critics say this stance however does not capture the strength of feeling within communities in Britain about the conflict. Some have called for Starmer to step down.

A spokesperson for Labour said that calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting is the best and most realistic way to address the humanitarian emergency in Gaza and is a position shared by major allies, in the US and the EU.