Britain and allied countries will formally sanction far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for their stance regarding war in the Gaza Strip, the Times said in a report today.

London will follow the move by Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries in freezing the assets and imposing travel bans on Israel’s national security minister, Ben Gvir – a settler in the West Bank – and Finance Minister Smotrich.

Britain’s Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Britain, like other European countries, has stepped up pressure on the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the Israeli government’s blockade of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, on the brink of liquidation, according to international experts.

London last month suspended free trade negotiations with Israel, accusing the Israeli government of “scandalous policies” in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. British diplomacy even summoned the Israeli ambassador and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who has called the escalation in recent weeks of the Israeli offensive “a dark new phase in this conflict”, has previously condemned statements by Smotrich about the possible clearing and destruction of Gaza and the relocation of its residents to third countries.