Keir Starmer warns Middle East is 'close to brink' of full-scale war

Sir Keir Starmer today warned MPs the Middle East is 'close to the brink' of a full-scale conflict as he marked the first anniversary of the 7 October attacks on Israel.

Speaking in the House of Commons, the PM repeated his call for the hostages taken by Hamas exactly 12 months ago to be returned 'immediately and unconditionally'.

He also said the 'pain and horror of that day is as acute today as it was a year ago', when gunmen killed some 1,200 people during a rampage in southern Israel.

But Sir Keir added the anniversary of the terror attacks was also a 'day of grief' for the wider Middle East, following the huge loss of life in Gaza during Israel's onslaught against Hamas.

'It is a living nightmare and it must end,' he told the Commons. 'We stand with all innocent victims in Israel, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and beyond.'

Amid frantic international efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, Sir Keir blasted Iran's recent missile attacks on Israel.

He said the attack exposed Iran's 'malign role' in the region and slammed Tehran's support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi militants across Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen.

But, with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu weighing up how to retaliate, Sir Keir warned Israel there was 'no military solution' to the challenges in the Middle East and reiterated his demand for all sides to 'step back from the brink'.

In a sombre statement to the Commons, Sir Keir said: 'The region cannot endure another year of this.

'Civilians on all sides have suffered too much. All sides must now step back from the brink and find the courage of restraint.

'There is no military solution to these challenges, so we must renew our diplomatic efforts.' 

The PM noted how the 7 October attacks saw 15 British citizens 'brutally slain', while  another has since died in captivity.

Referring to the remaining British hostage, Emily Damari, Sir Keir added: 'We could hardly imagine what hostages like Emily are going through nor what the families are going through, the agony, day after day.'

As tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East, the PM echoed other world leaders in calling for calmer heads.

'With the Middle East close to the brink and the very real danger of a regional war, last week the Iranian regime chose to strike Israel,' Sir Keir said.

'We support Israel's right to defend herself against Iran's aggression in line with international law.'

Sir Keir said by Iran was 'not a defensive action' but 'an act of aggression and a major escalation in response to the death of a terrorist leader' – a reference to the killing of Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah.

Turning to Israel's ongoing offensive in Lebanon, where Nasrallah was killed in an airstrike, Sir Keir told British nationals in the country 'you must leave now'.

He said the Government's 'immediate priority' in the Middle East was the safety of UK citizens in Levanon.

'We have already brought over 430 people home on chartered flights, and we stand ready with additional evacuation efforts as necessary,' the PM said.

'We will continue to lead calls for an immediate ceasefire and the return to a political plan for Lebanon based on security council resolution 1701 which requires Hezbollah to withdraw north of Litani River.

'They must stop firing rockets and end this now so that people on both sides of the border can return to their homes.'

Sir Keir also urged Israel to allow more aid into Gaza: 'The ongoing restrictions on aid are impossible to justify. Israel must open more crossings.'

The PM said there was 'no other option' than a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine to bring peace to the Middle East.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary David Lammy paid tribute to the Jewish community across Britain as he visited a north London synagogue.

Mr Lammy told reporters: 'This is a painful day for the Jewish community across this country and across the diaspora.'

He added: 'It is a day of deep reflection and pain thinking about October 7, the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust.

'And of course, thinking about the many hostages that are still held in Gaza and their loved ones and their pain.

'And particularly we think of Emily Damari, the British hostage, and her family have no word of her fate or how she is doing.'

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Israel has 'a duty to destroy Hamas', when it was put to him the country has gone beyond defence and is now in offence.

Speaking on LBC, he said: 'They're an evil terrorist organisation.'