After more than a year and a half of the war in Gaza, Britain appears to have finally lost patience with Israel. He condemned as "monstrous" the suggestion by Israel's hardline finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, that Gaza should be cleansed of its civilian population. Israel's actions, Lammy said, were isolating Israel from friends and partners around the world and "damaging the image of the State of Israel in the eyes of the world". Another statement followed, signed by 27 donor countries including the UK, condemning a new Gaza aid delivery model being promoted by Israel. At a World Jewish Congress conference in Jerusalem, the organisation's president Ronald Lauder challenged Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar.