Ten British nationals are facing allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity while fighting with the Israeli military in Gaza.

On Monday 7 April, a team of legal experts – including top human rights barrister Michael Mansfield KC – delivered a landmark report to the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Team.

The 240-page report was submitted on behalf of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the Public Interest Law Centre, which are representing Palestinians in Gaza and the UK. 

Barrister Sean Summerfield told Novara Media: “Everyone has looked on in horror at the atrocities being committed against the Palestinians and the depravity of events in Gaza. 

“I think the public will be shocked to hear there’s credible evidence that Brits have been directly involved in committing those atrocities.

“The UK has an obligation to pursue those suspected of having committed grave crimes. It doesn’t get much graver than war crimes and crimes against humanity – the worst crimes it’s possible to commit as a human being. 

“If Brits have travelled abroad to fight for the IDF and involved themselves in practices that amount to war crimes – and we say with credible evidence that they have – then there needs to be accountability for that.” 

More than 70 legal and human rights experts have signed a letter of support urging the Met’s War Crimes Unit to take action in accordance with international law, and investigate all complaints regarding involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Public Interest Law Centre says the dossier involves a detailed overview of the alleged crimes committed across the Gaza Strip, the involvement of military units and the criminal liability of the suspects based on their unit affiliations and roles in the armed conflict between 7 October 2023 and 31 May 2024.

Ten British nationals – including dual citizens – were allegedly involved in the targeted killing of civilians and aid workers, indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas such as hospitals and schools, the forced transfer and displacement of civilians, and coordinated attacks on historic monuments and religious sites. 

“I could not bear what I saw: dead bodies scattered next to each other,” an anonymised witness said in testimony collected by the PCHR. The witness recalled removing a blanket from the dead to find “the bodies of my uncle and his son, my nephews, and my brother-in-law along with other displaced people’s bodies”.

UK media is not currently able to access the full report in compliance with British law. 

Another witness said soldiers “ordered my father, husband and children to strip” and “they were taken one by one into the middle of the glass-strewn living room, where a soldier beat them with an electric cable and a large billiard stick.”

At a medical facility, a third witness said they saw corpses “scattered on the ground, especially in the middle of the hospital courtyard, where many dead bodies were buried in a mass grave”. A bulldozer “ran over a dead body in a horrific and heart-wrenching scene, desecrating the dead”, the witness recalled. They also said a bulldozer demolished part of the hospital.

Summerfield, of Doughty Street Chambers, told Novara Media: “We know that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken some action issuing arrest warrants for leaders most responsible, but foot soldiers and the officers directing them aren’t beyond reach. 

“When it comes to the report we’re very clear that the evidence is compelling and documents incidents of British nationals committing war crimes in Gaza. We have a wealth of open source evidence coupled with accounts from witnesses on the ground, so we’re able to link individuals to their military units and track the movement of those units to particular crime sites. 

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant last year for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. ICC member states are now obligated to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they set foot on ICC member state territory. 

However, a number of European countries – including France, Poland, Italy, Romania and Germany – either explicitly said they would not uphold their obligations or failed to confirm they would arrest the wanted officials in line with their international responsibilities. Hungary’s leader Viktor Orbán welcomed Netanyahu on a state visit last week and announced the country would be withdrawing from the International Criminal Court. 

The UK government has been reluctant to confirm that arrests will take place if Netanyahu or Gallant enter the country, but a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office said the government would “fulfil its legal obligations” in relation to the arrest warrant.

Summerfield said: “Through international treaties, the UK has a responsibility to investigate and prosecute those who have committed core international crimes. Through the submission of this report, it’s now incumbent on the Met police’s war crimes team to properly examine the dossier that we’ve submitted to conduct their own investigation and to properly assess, which we hope they’ll do, whether the evidence is such that arrest warrants and prosecutions should follow.

“We hope that this submission sends a message that if Brits with dual nationality are thinking about traveling to Israel to involve themselves in fighting, particularly if that’s in full knowledge of the atrocities that are ongoing, then they really should think again because the international community is prepared to act.” 

In a statement, Michael Mansfield KC said: “In the last 18 months we have witnessed international crimes unfold. Our leaders have done little if anything to prevent the suffering of millions of innocent Palestinians. 

“We ask the War Crimes Unit to take this report seriously, investigate and if proven, arrest and try the individuals named. British nationals are under a legal obligation not to collude with crimes committed in Palestine. No one is above the law.”

The Metropolitan police has been approached by Novara Media for comment.