LABOUR’S Shadow Foreign Secretary has said that Israel has the right to defend itself and called on the Government to review the level of humanitarian aid the UK provides to Gaza.
David Lammy told GB News: “We said right from the beginning that we support Israel’s right to defend itself. They have had the most awful, horrendous terrorist attack.
“There are 130 hostages currently in Gaza. Rape, murder, children, women. They have a right to go into Gaza to get those hostages, to degrade the military, the rockets and equipment that’s been used against them and, of course, to take out Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
“Keir Starmer has said all along that any operation must be according to international law. And so it’s hugely important that civilian casualties are minimised, that humanitarian aid and access is there, that people have access to food, to water, to medicine and that there are corridors, safe corridors, so that people can pass safely through the country without being bombed.
“We cannot as democracies, and Israel is a democracy, step back from the importance of international law at this moment, as hard as it is.”
In a discussion with Christopher Hope, he continued: “I’m not an army general, I haven’t got the intelligence available to me, but all of us, of course, are worried particularly about the children, the women, the civilians who could be caught up in conflict and about the urban warfare that we might be about to witness, so I pray and hope that it doesn’t go on for longer than is necessary.
“I called earlier in the week to ensure that British citizens were able to get out of both Israel and Gaza. I spoke to the Egyptians yesterday and I know that they are in discussions about the Rafah crossing and many Brits are making their way to that crossing so they can exit the country and I’m pleased of course that there are planes now leaving Israel with UK citizens.”
He added: “The situation in Gaza was already amongst the very worst in the country. This is the third most populated area on the planet. Half of the population are under the age of 14.
“I have noticed that the European Union has tripled its aid to Gaza overnight, and we have called on the Government to look again at the support we give to the citizens of Gaza at this time.”
