The UK government has barred Israeli officials from attending the country’s biggest arms fair over growing concern about the war in Gaza.
The decision does not cover representatives of Israeli defense contractors, who will be allowed to attend the DSEI UK exhibition, scheduled for September 9-12 in London.
‘The Israeli Government’s decision to further escalate its military operation in Gaza is wrong,’ the British government said in a statement.
‘As a result, we can confirm that no Israeli government delegation will be invited to attend DSEI UK 2025.’
The decision comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel takes steps to end the crisis in Gaza, agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas and commits to a long-term peace agreement.
Britain previously barred sales to Israel of any arms that could be used in the nearly 23-month war in Gaza.
Israel’s Defense Ministry said the decision was based on politics and ‘serves extremists.’
‘These restrictions amount to a deliberate and regrettable act of discrimination against Israel’s representatives,’ the ministry said.
The UK government has barred Israeli officials from attending the country’s biggest arms fair. Pictured: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz pictured on July 18
Palestinians, including children, try to receive hot meals, distributed by charity organizations, as people struggle to access food due to Israeli food blockade in Gaza City, Gaza on August 30, 2025
The DSEI UK exhibition is scheduled for September 9-12 in London. Pictured: A delegate studies a Challenger II tank on day two of the DSEI arms fair at ExCel on September 11, 2019 in London, England
The Israeli ministry said it would withdraw from the exhibition and will not establish a national pavilion.
Pro-Palestinian and anti-war groups have announced plans to for protests during DSEI, which will take place at the Excel center in east London.
It comes as an Israeli official said on Saturday that it will soon slow or halt humanitarian aid into parts of northern Gaza as it expands its offensive attempting to cripple Hamas.
The official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that Israel will stop airdrops over Gaza City in the coming days and reduce the arrival of aid trucks into the northern part of the strip as it prepares to evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents south.
Israel on Friday declared Gaza City a combat zone, calling it a Hamas stronghold and alleging that a network of tunnels remains in use despite several previous large-scale raids on the area throughout the war.
The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in the city, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering while enduring famine.
In recent days, the military has ramped up strikes on the city’s outskirts.
The military’s announcement to resume fighting came as the death toll in Gaza rose to more than 63,000 people.
A boy climbs from out of the rubble of a collapsed building that was hit by bombardment in the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on August 30, 2025
Displaced Palestinians fleeing south react as they ride in the back of a truck with belongings along the coastal road through the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on August 30
Displaced Palestinians fleeing south ride atop a truck with belongings along the coastal road through the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on August 30
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians who were killed by Israeli fire while trying to receive aid and another killed in a strike on Friday, according to medics, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, August 30, 2025
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli military strike in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike during a military operation in the east of Al Sheikh Redwan neighbourhood in Gaza City, 30 August 2025
Internally displaced Palestinians flee during a military operation in the east of Al Sheikh Redwan neighbourhood in Gaza City, 30 August 2025
Palestinians flee their homes as intense Israeli attacks on northern Gaza force them to head toward central Gaza via al-Rashid Road, carrying whatever belongings they can, on August 29, 2025 in Gaza
On Saturday, four people were killed by Israeli gunfire while trying to get aid in central Gaza, according to health officials at Awda hospital, were the bodies were brought.
It was unclear when the pause in aid would begin and when the airdrops would fully stop.
By Saturday there had been no airdrops for several days across Gaza, a break from the almost daily drops for the past few weeks.
Israel’s army didn’t respond to a request for comment about the airdrops or how it would provide aid to Palestinians as Israel ramped up its offensive.
On Friday, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged Palestinians to flee south, calling evacuation ‘inevitable.’
Aid groups warn that a large-scale evacuation of Gaza City would exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis.
