HUMANITARIAN charities called yesterday for an end to arms sales to Israel after an official watchdog reported that British aid worth tens of millions of pounds is being prevented from entering Gaza by the Israeli authorities.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), a watchdog that reports to the Commons international development committee, said that Britain had committed more than £70 million in extra funding for humanitarian assistance since the current conflict began in October last year.

But the commission added that all diplomatic efforts to get aid into the Gaza Strip, where more than 35,000 people have now been killed and near-famine conditions exist, had failed.