US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has sharply criticized British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband after Miliband alleged that Israel was preventing medicine from reaching Gaza and described children as dying while awaiting essential medical care.

Huckabee accused the British government of having “lost it” and claimed that its position reflected what he characterized as antisemitism. His comments came after Miliband released a video describing concerns raised during a meeting about Gaza’s healthcare situation.

In the video, Miliband said he had been briefed about “medicines being blocked” from entering Gaza and about “children dying while waiting for vital life-saving treatment.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected those allegations, saying there are no restrictions on the entry of medicines into Gaza. The ministry argued that Miliband was aware of Israel’s position and accused him of relying on what it described as inaccurate accounts rather than verified facts.

“If the Foreign Secretary were interested in facts rather than stories, he would know that there are no restrictions whatsoever on the entry of medicines into the Gaza Strip, and that no medicines are being blocked,” the Foreign Ministry wrote on X.

The ministry also said that 22,500 tons of medical supplies had entered Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire. According to the ministry, approximately 200 Palestinians had also left Gaza for medical treatment during the two weeks preceding its statement.

Israel further pointed to Britain’s participation in the International Gaza Support Center, a US-led coordination mechanism based in Kiryat Gat that is involved in facilitating humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

“The UK is a member of the International Gaza Support Center, which facilitates the delivery of medical aid to the Gaza Strip,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The dispute is unfolding amid an increasingly strained relationship between London and Jerusalem. Miliband, who became foreign secretary in July, has called for a “comprehensive reset” in Britain’s approach to Israel, while the two governments have clashed over Israeli settlement policy in the West Bank.

Tensions have particularly intensified over Israel’s controversial E1 settlement project. The proposed development would connect Jerusalem with the Ma’ale Adumim area and, according to critics, could significantly complicate the possibility of territorial continuity between major Palestinian population centers.

Israel has reportedly considered removing British representatives from the International Gaza Support Center as tensions with London increase. British officials have warned that such a move could interfere with international efforts to improve conditions in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has also warned that Israel “will act against” Britain if London proceeds with measures targeting Israeli settlements, saying Israel has “tools” available to respond.

British media have reported that Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s government is considering restrictions on trade involving goods produced in Israeli West Bank settlements. Such measures would form part of Britain’s response to the E1 development.

Britain has already imposed sanctions and entry restrictions on Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The Kiryat Gat coordination center has consequently become another point of contention. Britain maintains that its representatives are working there at the request of the United States and alongside Israel, international partners and UN agencies to support implementation of the US-backed postwar framework for Gaza.

The British delegation’s position has come under increasing pressure. An Israeli source familiar with the matter said Jerusalem was considering expelling British officials from the center along with additional measures against London.

Israel previously announced a similar move involving Dutch representatives, with Sa’ar saying in August that the Netherlands would lose its participation at the center following what he described as a series of “anti-Israel measures.”

The E1 project itself remains at the heart of the broader diplomatic dispute. Supporters of the expansion have openly argued that it would help prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, while opponents contend that construction in the area could make a contiguous Palestinian state considerably more difficult to achieve.

The Israeli government recently opened bids for seven residential compounds containing 1,234 housing units in E1, following approval the previous year for approximately 3,400 additional units.

Miliband previously described the project as “unacceptable and destructive” and said Britain was preparing a “comprehensive set of measures” in response, including possible sanctions against individuals involved in what Britain considers illegal settlement expansion.

Sa’ar responded by accusing the British government of taking a “patronizing” approach and argued that its policies were contributing “to a massive wave of antisemitic hatred and attacks against the British Jewish community” while damaging relations between Britain and Israel.

The latest dispute over Gaza’s medical supplies therefore comes against a much wider deterioration in UK-Israel relations, with humanitarian policy, settlement construction and possible economic measures increasingly becoming intertwined in the diplomatic confrontation.