Blackburn MP has called out the "absurdity" of arming Israel with weapons and then aiding the victims of the bombings in Gaza.

Adnan Hussain was speaking at a Westminster Hall debate on humanitarian aid and Gaza.

He said “questions must be raised as to the absurdity of a situation in which we as a country provide both the aid and the weapons to bomb the besieged people of Gaza".

He said "given the abundance in evidence already available" would the issue of the sale of weapons to a country accused of committing a plausible genocide would be re-visited.

Sir Keir Starmer has previously ruled out a total ban on arms sales to Israel, amid claims such a move could aid Gaza ceasefire efforts.

The Prime Minister said a complete ban would cover arms being used for defensive purposes, adding this would be the “wrong position” for the UK to adopt given Iran’s recent ballistic missile attack on Israel.

The UK government has previously suspended around 30 arms exports to Israel over concerns they could be used in violations of international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict.

During the debate on Thursday, Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, Ayoub Khan said the collective punishment being inflicted on Gazans is “shocking”, and that his debate was about “those being killed, not by weapons but by lack of basic humanitarian assistance”.

Mr Khan welcomed the government’s restoration of funding to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) but said more aid needed to be provided, and reiterated calls for an end to arms sales.

He said: “How can we send aid on the one hand, whilst providing the weapons of destruction with the other?”

Responding to the debate, Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer said the government’s position is that humanitarian access to Gaza “remains wholly inadequate”.

He said: “There have been repeated attacks on convoys, evacuation orders have undermined operations, and aid is far below Israel’s commitment to flood Gaza with aid.”

Responding to claims that Israel was not abiding with the UK’s request for aid to be free-flowing into Gaza, Mr Falconer said: “These points are being made with force, with emphasis, with consistency.”