Sir Keir Starmer is looking into sanctioning two hardline Israeli ministers over their support for blocking aid from entering Gaza and expanding illegal settlements.

On Tuesday, Lord Cameron, the former foreign secretary, revealed that he had been working on a plan to sanction Bezalel Smotrich, the Israeli finance minister, and Itamar Ben-Gvir, its national security minister.

Asked during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday whether he would sanction the two men, Sir Keir said: “We are looking at that.”

Mr Smotrich has said that starving two million Gazans might be “justified and moral”. Mr Ben-Givr called settlers who killed a 19-year-old in the West Bank “heroes”.

Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, told the Commons: “After my visit to Israel and Palestine last February, having witnessed the damage that these extremist ministers in the Netanyahu government are doing, I called on the last government to sanction them.

“The last government refused, but we now learn that the former foreign secretary was considering this. So will the Prime Minister now sanction the ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich?”