Politics
Parliament urges release of hostages on October 7 anniversary
Starmer and opposition leader Sunak attack Iran’s ‘malign’ influence
October 7, 2024 16:15
Starmer and opposition leader Sunak attack Iran’s ‘malign’ influence
October 7, 2024 16:15Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called for the “unconditional” release of hostages held by Hamas on the anniversary of October 7.
Speaking in Parliament on Monday afternoon, Starmer called Hamas’s attack “horrific” and “the bloodiest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust”. The Prime Minister described the terrorist group Hamas’s atrocities in southern Israel as “an attack born of hatred” of Jewish communities and “the state of Israel. The symbol of Jewish security to the world.”
He continued, “Fifteen British citizens were brutally slain that day, another has since died in captivity … Our thoughts with Jewish community around the world and in the United Kingdom.”
The Prime Minister, flanked at the dispatch box by solemn-looking Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, spoke of meeting families of hostages and of those who died in Hamas captivity last week, including the mother of 28-year-old British hostage Emily Damari.
Starmer told the Commons: “Mandy Damari spoke of her love for her daughter Emily, she said, ‘My personal clock stopped at 10:24 on October 7. The moment when Emily send a desperate unfinished message as Hamas attacked her kibbutz.’ She is still held hostage today”. He called for the “immediate and unconditional” release of hostages held in Gaza.
Turning to the wider conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Prime Minister described the “human toll among innocent civilians in Gaza” as “truly devastating”, noting that two million people had been displaced as a result of Israeli military operations and that around 41,000 people had been killed.
Casualty figures provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry do not distinguish between terrorists and civilians.
Starmer also condemned last week’s Iranian attack on Israel, telling MPs: “We support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran’s aggression in line with international law ... this was not a defensive action by Iran. It was an act of aggression and a major escalation in response to the death of a terrorist leader.
“It exposes once again Iran’s malign role in the region. They helped equip Hamas for the October 7 attacks. They armed Hezbollah who launched a year-long barrage of rockets on northern Israel, forcing 60,000 Israelis to flee their homes.”
Amid the threat of all-our war in the Middle East, he urged a renewal of international diplomatic efforts to find “political solutions to end the fighting”.
Opposition leader Rishi Sunak said October 7 was a “horrendous reminder of the antisemitism in our world and the existential threats that Israel faces”.
Sharing calls for the release of the hostages, he said over the past year many of those kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 had been “raped, sexually abused, murdered and mutilated beyond recognition. Today, a year on, many remain held by Hamas and other terrorist groups.”
The former prime minister shared criticism of Iran and its “refusal to accept Israel’s right to exist and its desire to destabilise the region through arming and funding its terrorist proxies”. Defending Israel’s decision to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, he told MPs, “Israel has a right to eliminate the leadership of Hezbollah … and restore security for its citizens.”
Turning to the British Jewish community, Sunak said: “I know that at moments like this, when the Jewish people are under attack in their homeland, Jewish people everywhere can feel less safe … across this House we will always stand against the evils of antisemitism.”
Lib Dem Party leader Sir Ed Davey told the Commons: “On the anniversary of those horrific attacks in Israel, we remember the victims, the people taken hostage and their families and we stand with the whole Jewish community.”
Some backbench MPs used the anniversary of Hamas’s atrocities to demand the government take tougher action against Israel.
Coventry MP Zarah Sultana, currently suspended by the Labour Party, called Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocidal” and called on the Starmer to “do what is morally and legally right and end the government's complicity in war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel, including F-35 fighter jets”. Starmer rejected her suggestion and said that a complete ban on arms sales “on the anniversary of October 7 and days after a huge attack by Iran into Israel would be the wrong position for this government.”