The officials in key roles
UK: Rishi Sunak, prime minister; David Cameron, foreign secretary; Kemi Badenoch, business and trade secretary; Grant Shapps, defence secretary. US: Joe Biden, president; Antony Blinken, secretary of state; Lloyd Austin, defence secretary. UN mission lead: Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
What was reported at the time
Reuters reported more than 100 deaths at an aid delivery on 29 February, attributing the toll to health authorities. It later reported the IPC’s 18 March warning of imminent famine.
The warning
The IPC warning concerned northern Gaza. The ICJ’s 28 March order required aid at scale, increased land crossings and military conduct that did not obstruct protected rights.
What governments did
The UK voted for the 25 March ceasefire resolution; the US abstained, allowing adoption. Yet Cameron’s 9 April announcement kept UK export licences unchanged. The incident accounts at the aid convoy remained disputed.
What was available
Officials could use licensing or military-assistance conditions to require humanitarian access, press for implementation of the adopted resolution and seek independent inquiry into aid-delivery deaths.
UN progress with unchanged UK arms policy
There was movement at the UN, but the UK’s export-policy decision remained unchanged after both famine warnings and further judicial intervention.
Evidence boundaries
Israel disputed how the convoy deaths occurred; the contemporary report must not be turned into a final judicial attribution. Imminent famine in March 2024 is distinct from the August 2025 famine classification.
Sources
[S74, S72, S73, S47, S93, S58, S64]
Roles and powers are explained in the decision-maker map. Sources distinguish reporting, official decisions and legal conclusions.