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Prince William’s emotional plea for fighting to end in Gaza has been met with an abrupt response from Israel. The future King today issued a rare statement about the ongoing war in the Middle East which coincided with a visit to the British Red Cross headquarters in London.
His statement said he “clings to the hope that a brighter future can be found and I refuse to give up on that”. “I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October,” he said.
“I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in and the hostages are released.
“Sometimes it is only when faced with the sheer scale of human suffering that the importance of permanent peace is brought home. Even in the darkest hour, we must not succumb to the counsel of despair.”
But this evening (February 20) Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy said that an end to the fighting will be possible once the 134 hostages are released and when Hamas is dismantled.
In his statement he said: “Israelis of course want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible, and that will be possible once the 134 hostages are released, and once the Hamas terror army threatening to repeat the 7 October atrocities is dismantled.
“We appreciate the Prince of Wales’ call for Hamas to free the hostages. We also recall with gratitude his statement from 11 October condemning Hamas’ terror attacks and reaffirming Israel’s right of self-defence against them.”
Almost 30,000 Palestinians have been killed during the conflict, with the Israeli military bombing Gaza and civilians blocking aid from entering Palestine.
The prince’s statement sparked a response from ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who said he should “stick to the BAFTAs”, but won the support from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Our readers’ reactions remain split on whether the heir to the throne’s statement was too political.
Mr Sunak’s spokesperson said: “[His message is] consistent with the Government position, and we welcome that intervention. It is important that we speak with one voice as a nation.”
In the Prince’s visit to the British Red Cross today he took part in a video link with counterparts in Gaza who gave a detailed rundown of the work they are doing. But among the solidarity, he also heard aboutt he sheer crisis facing the Middle East.
That included the scarce amount of medical supplies or fuel forcing hospitals to “turn into cemeteries”, and the chaos brought about by mobs who are disrupting humanitarian aid.
The prince took part in a video link with Red Cross staff in Gaza, who gave him graphic first-hand accounts of their work.
Prince William was also told that the Red Cross was ready to help with the release of hostages.
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