Israel-Gaza war: Netanyahu accuses Starmer of siding with Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a blistering attack on UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of France and Canada – saying that they had “effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power”.

He also accused Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of siding with “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”.

Netanyahu was speaking after Thursday’s deadly attack on Israeli embassy staff in Washington. Days earlier, the UK, France and Canada had condemned Israel’s expanded offensive in Gaza as “disproportionate” and described the humanitarian situation as “intolerable”.

Downing Street has pointed to Sir Keir’s condemnation of the Washington attack.

In that post, Sir Keir called antisemitism an “evil we must stamp out”.

All three countries denounced the Washington killings, which saw embassy workers Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, shot dead at an event hosted by the Capital Jewish Museum.

The suspect, Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, repeatedly shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested, police said.

Social media accounts linked to the suspect indicate that he was involved in pro-Palestinian protest movements. Investigators say they are working to verify online writings purportedly by him that accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza and criticise US policy.

According to details in an affidavit, the suspect landed in Washington the night prior to the event and bought a ticket a few hours before it started.

He also referenced a 2024 incident in which a man set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington. According to the affidavit, he expressed admiration for the act, calling the man a “martyr” for his protest over the conflict.

In addition to condemning Wednesday’s shooting, the UK, France and Canada – close allies of Israel – have come out in strong support of Israel following the deadly Hamas-led attacks 19 months ago.

Their statement demanding Israel halt its latest offensive was widely viewed as the strongest criticism of Israel’s military action since the war in Gaza began. It threatened concrete actions if Israel did not change course.

On Wednesday Sir Keir added that Israel’s decision to allow only a small amount of aid into Gaza was “utterly inadequate” and the UK suspended talks over a possible trade deal.

In his video, Netanyahu said Hamas wanted to destroy Israel and annihilate the Jewish people. He said the Palestinian armed group had welcomed the joint UK, French and Canadian criticism of Israel’s war conduct.

Some of Israel’s closest allies wanted Israel to “stand down and accept that Hamas’s army of mass murderers will survive”, he said.

“I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Starmer, when mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you’re on the wrong side of justice,” he added.

“You’re on the wrong side of humanity, and you’re on the wrong side of history.”

Netanyahu went on to blame a recent claim by UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher that thousands of babies would imminently die in Gaza if Israel did not immediately let in aid for the attack in Washington.

“A few days ago, a top UN official said that 14,000 Palestinian babies would die in 48 hours. You see many international institutions are complicit in spreading this lie,” he said.

“The press repeats it. The mob believed it. And a young couple is then brutally gunned down in Washington.”

When asked at the time for clarification on Fletcher’s statement, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke said “there are babies who are in urgent life-saving need of these supplements… and if they do not get those, they will be in mortal danger”.

Also on Thursday, an Israeli minister, Amichai Chikli, accused Sir Keir and other leaders of “emboldening the forces of terror”.

On Friday, UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard condemned the killings in Washington but rejected Netanyahu’s strong criticism of the British prime minister.

He said: “We stand in support of Israel’s right to self-defence as long as they conduct that within international humanitarian law – a position we’ve had since those appalling attacks on 7 October.

“We are also very clear we need to see aid get to the people who are genuinely suffering in Gaza.”

French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine also reiterated his criticism of Israel’s “escalation” in Gaza following Netanyahu’s statement.

He told FranceInfo radio: “Israel has to let the aid in. Access has to be massive and free.”

On Thursday, more than 90 lorries carrying aid supplies were allowed to cross into Gaza but the UN said that level was “nowhere near enough” to meet the needs of Palestinians living there.

The trickle of aid follows an 11-week total blockade, which humanitarian groups said risked widespread famine. Israel resumed air strikes in March which have since killed 3,613 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

In an interview for BBC World Service’s Newshour programme, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described the current Israeli administration as a “gang of thugs”.

He was asked about remarks by the Israeli education minister, who had said Olmert should be ashamed of a previous interview with the BBC, where he argued that what Israel was doing in Gaza was “close to a war crime”.

“This is nonsense, they are a group of thugs that are running the state of Israel these days and the head of the gang is Netanyahu – this is a gang of thugs,” Olmert said.

“Of course they are criticising me, they are defaming me, I accept it, and it will not stop me from criticising and opposing these atrocious policies.”

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas’s cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 53,762 people, including 16,500 children, have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.