Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called on Israel to “protect ordinary Palestinians” as it prepares a ground offensive against the leaders of Hamas—which ordered the attacks at the weekend that killed 1,200 Israelis—in the Gaza Strip.
Mr. Sunak spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to reiterate his support for Israel, but expressed his concerns for the 2.3 million people in Gaza who could become collateral damage.
Mr. Netanyahu has promised to “crush” Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.
On Friday Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said Israel had every right to “go after” Hamas.
Israel has told 1 million people in Gaza city, at the northern end of the strip, to evacuate to the south within 24 hours and has cut off all food, water, and electricity.
Gaza’s border with Egypt remains closed, with the authorities in Cairo apparently fearing a huge exodus of refugees if they opened it.
Shapps: ‘What Is Israel to Do?’
Asked by the BBC about the situation in Gaza, Mr. Shapps said: “The question is what is Israel to do? Leave these Hamas terrorists to come in and slaughter people again? Or deal with them once and for all?”He said: “The fact that Israel gives notice … is in stark contrast. Israel finds itself in a very difficult situation, and to be clear: Israel needs to act within international law just like any other nation … But Israel will also obviously need to deal with these Hamas terrorists.”
“Israel is giving due warning, but they are going after those terrorists, and we absolutely respect Israel’s right to do that,” added the defence secretary.
Mr. Shapps told GB News: “We’re sending not just ships but also aircraft to really monitor the situation, provide surveillance, provide the potential for humanitarian aid, but also to act as a deterrent in the wider region.”
Hamas Claims 13 Hostages Killed by Air Strikes
Hamas claimed on Friday that Israeli air strikes had killed 13 of the hostages in the last 24 hours.It said the dead included foreign nationals, but did not identify any of those who it said were killed.
Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari denied the Hamas claim, telling Al-Jazeera Arabic, “We have our own information and do not believe the lies of Hamas.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, speaking during an IMF meeting in Morocco, said Britain would provide “absolutely everything” Israel needed “in their hour of need.”
Israel says more than 1,300 people were killed by the Hamas attacks in Israel, including 247 soldiers.
Among the soldiers were Nathanel Young, 20, from north London, who was serving in the Israeli Defense Forces.
Other British nationals who died in the attack were Bernard Cowan, 63, who grew up in Newton Mearns, near Glasgow, and Jake Marlowe, 26, who was working at the Supernova music festival, which was subjected to a particularly brutal attack.
Photographer Dan Darlington is also feared dead, with his sister Shelley posting on social media that he had been “murdered” at Nir Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel.
The health ministry in Gaza said 1,799 people had been killed by air strikes, including more than 580 children and 351 women.
The Hamas attacks—which they dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm—are the third worst terrorist atrocity since 1970, beaten only by the death toll in 9/11 and a 2014 attack by ISIS on Saddam Hussein’s home town of Tikrit in Iraq.
