Israel/Gaza

Lord Hussain Excerpts

Tuesday 24th October 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hussain (LD)]

My Lords, I speak while this tragic situation is happening in Gaza. I have learned a lot from the speakers before me and their huge amount of knowledge and experience. I have nothing to declare, because I have never been to the region or visited Israel or Palestine, and neither do I have any family connections. All I have done is to read about it and learn from the media. Whatever I say is based on that information.

On 7 October we woke to learn the shocking news that Hamas, a terrorist organisation proscribed by the UK Government, had launched an assault on Israeli territory. The latest estimated death toll from the attacks, excluding militants, is 1,400, with more than 4,600 people injured. Hamas fighters have also reportedly taken at least 200—not 2,000, as one of the previous speakers said—hostages back into Gaza, including 20 children. That is horrific. I urge Hamas to release these prisoners.

In response to the Hamas attacks, Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign against the besieged enclave, razing neighbourhood after neighbourhood. This continues as we speak. The latest media reports by the Gaza Ministry of Health indicate that the number of people killed in Gaza since 7 October has risen to 5,000. Women and children make up more than 62% of fatalities, while more than 15,200 people, including 35 UN workers, have been injured. I condemn the killing of all innocent people from all sides.

As a result of the Israeli bombardment, thousands of buildings are reported to have been destroyed, including residential blocks, hospitals, mosques and churches. More than 1 million people have been displaced in the territory, which has been under siege and largely deprived of water, food and other basic supplies. This collective punishment is against international law and could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel has reportedly amassed a force of 360,000 IDF troops to launch a ground assault on Gaza and has called on the residents of Gaza City to evacuate ahead of reported plans for a ground invasion by IDF forces. However, there have been reports of further air strikes on evacuees, killing a large number of mainly women and children, with questions raised about how feasible any evacuation of such a large-population area is.

Since the initial Hamas attacks, rising tensions in the West Bank have led to deadly clashes between Israeli security forces and the settlers and Palestinians. The UN reports that 79 Palestinians, including 20 children, and one Israeli soldier have been killed.

Let us remind ourselves that this conflict did not start on 7 October 2023. Gaza is a walled area, 25 miles long and six miles wide. The flow of food, water and basic amenities is controlled by Israel. It is recognised by most humanitarian groups as the world’s largest open prison. People try to live there while staring death in the eye on a daily basis. This has been normalised by the rest of the world. We must be reminded of the facts—facts that have not changed in almost 70 years.

In its 2022 report, the independent organisation Amnesty International said:

“Whether they live in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, or Israel itself, Palestinians are treated as an inferior racial group and systematically deprived of their rights. We found … Israel’s cruel policies of segregation, dispossession and exclusion across all territories under its control”.


We need to back a ceasefire and use our influence to get the Israeli Government to allow humanitarian aid, water, food and fuel supplies to the northern areas, as well as to the south of the Gaza Strip, and to lift the siege of the Gaza Strip completely. The conflict cannot go around in circles for another 70 years. We need to do everything to help to resolve it. The world cannot fail another generation of Palestinians.

What happens in the Middle East and other parts of the world often raises concerns in many communities in this country. The United Kingdom is proud of our diversity, where people from all faiths, colours and cultures work and enjoy themselves together. I am sure that this House will stand united to make sure that events in other parts of the world do not give rise to any form of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or racism in our country.