Why Labour needs to decide whether to break the consensus on Israel

Keir Starmer has not strayed far from the government line on Gaza, even as the death roll has mounted. Photograph: Maja Smiejkowska/PA

Two developments in the past 48 hours could test the cross-party consensus in Westminster on the conflict between Israel and Hamas: the signal sent by the Ministry of Defence that it is prepared to join the US in launching airstrikes against Houthi sites in Yemen, and statements by the Israeli political and military leadership that the war may take months or even a whole year to complete.

Labour has so far largely concurred with UK government policy, which in turn has largely shadowed thinking inside the White House.