Gaza: Ceasefire

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grocott (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

We will hear from the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, next and then from my noble friend Lord Grocott.

[Lord Pannick (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the tragedy of Gaza is going to continue until Hamas is removed from power? Can he explain what he wants to say on this subject to Ayelet Epstein, who is watching these proceedings and whose son Netta was murdered by Hamas on 7 October when he successfully shielded his fiancée from a grenade?

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[Baroness Morris of Bolton (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we will hear from the noble Baroness, Lady Morris.

[Baroness Morris of Bolton (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. Given the horrifying events of the last 24 hours, there is an inescapable irony in uttering the words “durability” and “ceasefire in Gaza” in the same breath. The Minister talked about diplomatic efforts. What are the Government specifically doing to engage our allies across the Arab world, especially Saudi Arabia, in helping to bring this nightmare to an end?

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[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we will hear from the noble Lord, Lord Sahota, next and then the noble Baroness, Lady Foster.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, last year the EU representative for the Middle East said on TV that “before 7 October, Gaza was an open prison and after 7 October it became an open graveyard”. What does the Minister make of that statement?

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[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we will hear from the noble Lord, Lord Turnberg, next and then from the noble Lord, Lord Singh.

[Lord Turnberg (Lab)]

I am afraid it is the case that Hamas is busily redigging its tunnels, rearming and preparing to attack Israel again. It makes that very clear and at the same time it has 58 or 59 men, women and children held hostage in terrible conditions, as we have heard from the report that we will receive later today. Should we not be pressing Qatar and Egypt to impress on Hamas that it really must come to the table? We must have some peace and some resolution and it is Hamas that is preventing it. Can we not press them to ensure that Hamas will agree to release hostages and cease its aggressive actions?