British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that at least six UK citizens had been killed after Hamas attacked Israel nine days ago, characterizing the incident as a “pogrom.”
“We should call it by its name. It was a pogrom. The terrible nature of these attacks means it is proving difficult to identify many of the deceased, but with a heavy heart, I can inform the House (of Commons) that at least six British citizens were killed, a further ten are missing, some of whom are feared to be among the dead,” Rishi Sunak said.
He informed that the British government is increasing its aid to the Palestinian people by a third with 10 million pounds ($12.18 million) more in support.
“We are increasing our aid by a third with an additional 10 million pounds of support. An acute humanitarian crisis is unfolding to which we must respond,” Rishi Sunak told lawmakers, adding, “We must support the Palestinian people because they are victims of Hamas too.”
Earlier, Rishi Sunak condemned some incidents at pro-Palestinian marches in Britain as “simply not acceptable”.
“There is no place in our society for anti-Semitism and we will do everything we can to stamp it out. And where it happens, it will be met with the full force of the law,” Rishi Sunak said during a visit to a Jewish school in London.
“They’ve made several arrests but they’re also now reviewing footage of some of the things that many people would have seen that are just simply not acceptable, and where they can they will be able to make further arrests,” he said.