US ambassador accuses Ed Miliband of having ‘lost it’ over Gaza and engaging in ‘Jew hate’
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
A diplomatic row has erupted after US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee accused Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is Jewish, of "Jew hate" and said the UK Government had "lost it" over Gaza. The clash followed a video Miliband posted on Instagram describing conditions in Gaza as "horrific" and claiming medicines were being blocked from entering the territory while children died awaiting treatment, prompting him to pledge more decisive UK action. Israel's foreign ministry backed Huckabee, rejecting Miliband's claims as fact-free.
Israel's foreign ministry said there were no restrictions on medicines entering Gaza, that 22,500 tons of medical supplies had arrived since the ceasefire began, and that 200 Gazans had left the Strip for medical treatment in the past fortnight alone. The row coincides with reports that Health Secretary Andy Burnham, who also holds responsibility in this area, is preparing possible sanctions on Israel, including a ban on trade with West Bank settlements, despite US objections. Burnham is also set for his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump, potentially this month around the UN General Assembly, while new shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat has warned that such sanctions could damage vital UK-Israel intelligence cooperation and undermine British national security.
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In short
- US envoy Huckabee accused Miliband of "Jew hate" over Gaza remarks
- Israel disputed Miliband's claims that medicines are blocked from Gaza
- Row overshadows planned UK sanctions and Burnham-Trump meeting
How this story developed
- 2 months ago Israel's foreign ministry has issued a detailed rebuttal to Ed Miliband's claims about blocked medicines in Gaza, stating that no restrictions exist on medical supplies entering the territory, that 22,500 tons of medical aid have arrived since the ceasefire began, and that 200 Gazans left the Strip for medical treatment in the past fortnight alone.
- 2 months ago A diplomatic row has erupted after US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee accused Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is Jewish, of "Jew hate" and said the UK Government had "lost it" over Gaza.
- 2 months ago Ed Miliband has come under fire from a senior Trump administration figure after posting a video condemning conditions in Gaza and pledging that the UK Government would "act decisively".
Full account
Ed Miliband has been accused of antisemitism by a senior US diplomat after the Foreign Secretary said medicines were being blocked from reaching Gaza. Mike Huckabee, the American ambassador to Israel, wrote on social media that the British government had “lost it” and that its “Jew hate” “knows no boundaries and knows no facts”. The intervention followed a video Mr Miliband posted online in which he described a meeting with people who had recently been in Gaza as “horrific”, recounting claims of medicines being held up and children dying while awaiting treatment, and said the government needed to “act more decisively”.
Israel’s foreign ministry also rejected the Foreign Secretary’s account, insisting there were no restrictions on medicines entering Gaza, that some 22,500 tonnes of medical supplies had arrived since the ceasefire began, and that hundreds of Gazans had left the territory for medical treatment in recent weeks. The row is notable in part because Mr Miliband is himself Jewish, the son of parents who fled Nazi persecution, a point several reports highlighted given the nature of the accusation levelled against him. It comes as he has spoken of a “comprehensive reset” of Britain’s approach to Israel.
The clash lands amid wider friction between London and Washington over the UK’s Middle East policy. Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly weighing sanctions on Israel, potentially within days, including a possible ban on trade with West Bank settlements, a move Washington has cautioned against. The new shadow foreign secretary, Tom Tugendhat, warned that straining ties with Israel could damage UK security given its role as an intelligence partner, citing his experience as a former security minister. The dispute also comes ahead of anticipated contact between the Prime Minister and Donald Trump, possibly around the UN General Assembly in New York this month.
Coverage diverged in how much prior context was offered for Mr Miliband’s claims. Some reporting noted this is not the first time concerns have been raised about aid reaching Gaza: a January report from Physicians for Human Rights and a University of Chicago human rights clinic detailed restrictions on food and medical supplies, while other reporting has pointed to chemotherapy treatments being interrupted. The UN’s humanitarian chief said in June that aid volumes had increased but remained inadequate, citing curbs on items such as prosthetic limbs, and aid agencies have said limited engine oil and spare parts have hampered hospitals. It was also noted that Mr Miliband’s predecessor, David Lammy, voiced similar frustration over Israeli restrictions on aid last year.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
The Daily Mail placed greater emphasis on the domestic political dimension — Andy Burnham's reported push for sanctions and a West Bank trade ban, Tom Tugendhat's security warning, and the prospect of a Starmer-Trump meeting — giving more space to the Israeli foreign ministry's detailed rebuttal figures.
The Independent gave more weight to the historical and evidentiary backdrop, citing the Physicians for Human Rights report, Telegraph reporting on chemotherapy shortages, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher's June remarks, and David Lammy's earlier criticism of Israel, framing Miliband's comments as consistent with a pattern of concerns rather than an isolated claim.
The Independent more explicitly foregrounded that Miliband is the son of Jewish refugees from Nazi persecution as context for the 'Jew hate' accusation, while the Mail mentioned his Jewish identity more briefly.
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- US ambassador accuses Ed Miliband of having ‘lost it’ over Gaza and engaging in ‘Jew hate’Daily Mail
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Every side used: ambassador, accuses, miliband, hate, gaza
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of Miliband's stance argue that a minister who has just heard first-hand testimony from people who were in Gaza has a duty to speak plainly about reported horrors such as blocked medicines and children dying while awaiting treatment, even if that discomforts allies. They see robust measures, including sanctions and a ban on trade with West Bank settlements, as legitimate tools to uphold international law and humanitarian standards, and view sharp criticism of Israeli government conduct as distinct from prejudice against Jewish people, arguing that conflating the two risks shutting down necessary scrutiny of any state's actions.
The case against
Those sympathetic to Israel and to a more cautious UK approach argue that dramatic diplomatic moves should rest on verified facts rather than secondhand accounts, pointing to Israel's own figures on aid entering Gaza and its rejection of claims that supplies are being blocked. They contend that inflammatory language and rushed sanctions risk damaging a vital intelligence-sharing relationship and straining ties with Washington at a delicate moment, and that Israel and its advocates are entitled to push back firmly against accusations they regard as one-sided or insufficiently substantiated.
Explained simply
Israel and Gaza have been at war since October 2023, and a fragile ceasefire has since taken hold, though disputes continue over humanitarian access, aid deliveries and the treatment of civilians in the territory. Ed Miliband, the UK's Energy Secretary, is Jewish and recently spoke out publicly about conditions in Gaza, describing them as "horrific" and calling for the UK to take a tougher stance. His comments have drawn a sharp response from the United States, a close ally of Israel.
Mike Huckabee is the US ambassador to Israel, a former Republican presidential candidate and evangelical Christian pastor known for strongly pro-Israel views. His accusation against Miliband has inserted the US directly into a growing dispute between the UK and Israeli governments over Gaza policy, at a time when relations between London and Washington on the issue are already strained.
The row also touches wider tensions within the UK government over how far to go in pressuring Israel. Andy Burnham and Tom Tugendhat are senior figures with differing views on potential sanctions, while Israel's close intelligence-sharing relationship with Britain, credited with helping prevent attacks on UK soil, adds a security dimension to the debate. The outcome matters because it could affect UK-Israel and UK-US relations, as well as the UK's approach to the Middle East more broadly.
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