MPs tell Starmer it's 'more urgent than ever' to create Ukraine-style family visa for Gazans

Dozens of MPs person told the premier curate it is "more urgent than ever" to make a Ukraine-style household visa for Gazans with household successful the UK.

At the extremity of June, 67 MPs and peers wrote to Sir Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper, who was location caput astatine the time, to make a "Gaza Family Scheme" to "reunite [Palestinians] with their loved ones successful the UK until it is harmless to return".

They said it could beryllium based connected the Ukraine Family Scheme, which allowed Ukrainian nationals from 2022 to February 2024 to articulation household members successful the UK to live, enactment and survey for up to 3 years.

However, the radical told Sky News they person not received a reply successful the 3 months since their request, truthful Labour MP Marsha de Cordova, who coordinated the letter, has sent different missive to the premier curate and existent Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, calling for an urgent update connected whether the authorities volition make a Gaza household visa scheme.

The caller letter, seen exclusively by Sky News and sent connected 1 October, said a strategy "is much urgent than ever" to "help the household members of British citizens and residents presently trapped successful Gaza".

It says 65,419 radical are present reported to person been killed and 167,160 injured, portion captious infrastructure has been destroyed and medics, rescue workers, teachers and journalists person been killed.

"British citizens and residents with household members successful Gaza are understandably terrified that their relatives volition beryllium killed," the missive says.

Israel has been engaging successful a subject takeover of Gaza City, and connected Wednesday its defence minister, Israel Katz, said anyone who remains successful the metropolis volition beryllium "considered terrorists and panic supporters".

On 1 September, the British authorities temporarily suspended caller applications for a strategy allowing refugees to bring household members to the UK, which includes radical from Gaza.

Ms de Cordova, a erstwhile shadiness furniture member, told Sky News: "We are present facing a genocide successful Gaza - arsenic concluded by the UN - with an ever-rising decease toll, an unyielding manmade famine and household members of British citizens trapped successful a warfare zone.

"That's wherefore I've written again to the government, pressing them to make a Gaza household visa scheme.

"A household visa strategy would springiness radical a way retired of Gaza, let them to beryllium reunited with household successful the UK and springiness them the accidental astatine a caller start.

"Just past month, the authorities took the important measurement of recognising Palestinian statehood. A household visa strategy would beryllium a applicable adjacent measurement that would assistance bring radical to information and assistance america - arsenic a federation - unrecorded up to our highest values connected the planetary stage."

Ghassan Ghaben, spokesperson for the Gaza Families Reunited campaign, said the deficiency of a strategy "continues to teardrop Palestinian families apart".

He said the suspension of the exile household reunion way is simply a "devastating measurement backwards" arsenic it was "one of the lone harmless routes near for spouses and children to articulation their contiguous household members successful the UK".

"The UK authorities indispensable uphold the close to household unity and let Palestinians successful the UK to reunite with their loved ones successful Gaza," Mr Ghaben said.

"More widely, it indispensable urgently instrumentality factual enactment to halt Israel's continued starvation, displacement, and sidesplitting of Palestinians successful Gaza.

"Recognising a Palestinian authorities without taking factual steps to uphold Palestinian basal quality rights, including household unity, is thing abbreviated of hypocrisy."

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The existent question of unit began connected 7 October, 2023, erstwhile Hamas-led militants carried retired an onslaught wrong Israel that killed 1,200 people, astir of them civilians, and saw astir 250 radical taken hostage.

Israel claims its cognition successful Gaza is aimed astatine pressuring Hamas to surrender and instrumentality the remaining 48 hostages - it believes astir 20 of the captives are inactive alive.

Israel has repeatedly denied that its actions successful Gaza magnitude to genocide and claims they are justified arsenic a means of self-defence. It says it does not people civilians.

The fig of radical killed successful Gaza, reported by the Hamas-run Gaza wellness ministry, does not differentiate betwixt civilians and fighters - but its officials accidental much than fractional of those killed are women and children.

Sky News has contacted Number 10 and the Home Office for a comment.