Rishi Sunak has issued a statement marking six months of the war (Picture: AP)
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has marked half a year since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas, which has seen more than 30,000 deaths.
The Prime Minister said the UK continues to support Israel’s right to defend its security – but said he is appalled by the deaths of aid workers last week from an Israeli strike.
Sunak also echoed calls for a ‘humanitarian pause’ to allow further aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.
Sunak’s remarks come as UK’s sympathies have shifted six months into the conflict.
A recent Israeli attack which killed seven aid workers – three Britons, a Palestinian, an Australian, a Pole and a dual US-Canadian citizen – sparked outrage as they were travelling in vehicles clearly marked with their charity logo – stoked further discontent with the ongoing war.
The IDF has continued to strike Gaza (Picture: AP)
The humanitarian toll in Gaza is high (Picture: AFP)
At the beginning of the conflict, 62% of Britons sympathised in some way with the Israelis, according to newly released data.
That number has decreased six months into the war – now measuring at just 53% sympathy for Israel.
Brits are now more likely to sympathise with Palestinians – a 13% increase from the low sympathy percentage of 15% reported initially after October 7.
The opening salvo of the war between Hamas and Israel began with the Supernova music festival massacre in the southern Israeli desert.
More Trending
But there is growing pressure on the government to suspend arms sales to Israel, with a letter signed by more than 600 lawyers, including former Supreme Court justices, warning it risks breaching international law.
Now six months on from the beginning of the deadly conflict, Sunak said: ‘Six months later, Israeli wounds are still unhealed. Families still mourn and hostages are still held by Hamas.
‘And after six months of war in Gaza, the toll on civilians continues to grow – hunger, desperation, loss of life on an awful scale.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.