Six Britons confirmed dead in Israel with 10 missing after Hamas terror attack
Six Britons were killed in Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel with another 10 missing - some of whom are feared dead, Rishi Sunak said today.
Addressing the Commons in an emergency statement, the Prime Minister branded the atrocity a "pogrom" and "an existential strike at the very idea of Israel as a safe homeland for Jewish people". Families of some of the victims were watching the parliamentary proceedings from the public gallery, said the PM.
The Conservative leader said: "The attacks in Israel last weekend shocked the world - over 1,400 people murdered one by one, over 3,500 wounded, almost 200 taken hostage. We should call it by its name - it was a pogrom. The families of some of the missing are in the public gallery today. We call for the immediate release of all hostages and I say to them: we stand with you. We stand with Israel.
MPs held a minute's silence in the Commons to commemorate victims of the violence"The murdered and the missing come from over 30 countries, including the United Kingdom. The terrible nature of these attacks means it is proving difficult to identify many of the deceased but with a heavy heart I can inform the House that at least six British citizens were killed. A further 10 are missing, some of whom are feared to be among the dead."
British officials have arranged eight rescue flights out of Israel so far, extracting more than 500 people, with more flights leaving today, Mr Sunak said. The PM confirmed the deployment, announced at the end of last week, of two British naval support ships, Lyme Bay and Argus, from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, along with three Royal Navy Merlin helicopters and a company of Royal Marines.
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He said UK forces would be able to "interdict" arms bound for Gaza and also help with humanitarian relief. Increasing the British military's presence in the area would "provide broader regional stability", he said. The PM revealed that earlier he spoke to the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
"We must support the Palestinian people because they are victims of Hamas too,” he said. “Like our allies, we believe that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people or their legitimate aspirations to live with equal measures of security, freedom, justice, opportunity and dignity.
"Hamas simply does not stand for the future that the Palestinians want and they seek to put the Palestinian people in harm's way. So we must ensure humanitarian support urgently reaches civilians in Gaza.”
Mr Sunak also urged Israel to act within international law when exacting its revenge on Hamas, telling MPs democracies were "stronger and more secure when we act according to the rule of law". He added: "As a friend we will continue to call on Israel to take every possible caution to avoid harming civilians." He vowed that "all the tools of British diplomacy" will be used to "sustain the prospects of peace and stability" in the region.
He told the Commons: "However hard it is, we need to ask the tough questions about how we can revive the long-term prospect for a two-state solution, for normalisation and regional stability, not least because that is precisely what Hamas has been trying to kill."
Labour leader Keir Starmer said the West must "continue striving for a two-state solution". He said Hamas has "no interest in Palestinian rights", with "women and children used as human shields, hostages held who should be released".
He lashed out at anti-Semitism and Islamophobia unleashed in the wake of the terror attack last weekend. "I don't want Britain to be a place where Jewish schools are closed, Jewish children stay at home out of fear and Jewish people feel compelled to hide their identity," he told MPs. Urging MPs to remain united, Mr Starmer added: "Terror cannot win."
The Scottish National Party's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said Hamas’ attack was "a crime against our common humanity and it must be condemned". Branding the atrocity "abhorrent", he said: "History will judge us on our response not just to these appalling attacks but to the humanitarian crisis which is undoubtedly unfolding in Gaza. Let us not be on the wrong side of history."
Former Prime Minister Theresa May urged the Government to "leave no stone unturned in its efforts to prevent regional escalation of the conflict" and to "reflect on the role of Iran", which is widely believed to have supplied Hamasd with weapons. MPs held a minute’s silence before the start of parliamentary business in the Commons.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle told MPs, who have just returned from the three-week conference party recess: “I am sure the House will have been shocked by the recent terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, (I) invite the House to stand with me and observe a minute’s silence in recognition of all those innocent Israelis, Palestinians and others who have lost their lives all those taken hostage and all those affected by this conflict in the region. Please join me now in standing.” Mr Sunak, Mr Starmer and Mr Flynn were among those in the chamber.
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