UK’s Starmer marks ‘nightmare’ two years since Hamas attack on Israel

LONDON - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Oct 7 said the two years since Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza, had been a “living nightmare” for many.

Mr Starmer also said the period had seen “rising anti-Semitism” in the UK, days after

two Jewish men were killed

in an attack against a Manchester synagogue.

“Today we mark two years since the horrifying attacks on Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7th 2023.... The worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Mr Starmer said in a statement.

“Since that awful day, so many have endured a living nightmare,” he said, vowing to continue efforts to bring home British hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas’s October 2023 attack

resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 47 of whom are still in Gaza. Of those, the Israeli military says 25 are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 67,160 Palestinians over the last two years, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Mr Starmer, who made the landmark move for the UK to recognise a state of Palestine in September alongside other allies, welcomed the US plan “towards peace in the Middle East” in his statement.

Protests planned

In his statement, Mr Starmer said “Jewish communities have also endured rising anti-Semitism on our streets” including a car ramming and stabbing attack on Oct 2 in Manchester, which took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calender.

“This is a stain on who we are, and this country will always stand tall and united against those who wish harm and hatred upon Jewish communities,” said the British leader.

On Oct 5, around 3,000 people gathered in central London for a commemorative event to mark the anniversary, waving Israeli and Union Jack flags and holding posters of hostages.

There are multiple pro-Palestinian events, including rallies and vigils, planned at UK universities on Oct 7, coinciding with the Oct 7 anniversary.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations went ahead over the weekend as well, despite the government urging protesters to refrain from gathering in the wake of the Oct 2 attack.

Tributes were paid to the two victims of the attack, Mr Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Mr Adrian Daulby, 53, during funerals on Oct 5 and Oct 6. AFP