Note to reader: We wanted to give you a trigger warning on what you may read below. We have chosen, as with every one of these briefings, to not share horrific images, however we want to alert you as sensitively as we can to the reports coming out of Israel and Gaza.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak: I’ve been unequivocal and consistent in condemning Hamas
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that, “I’ve been unequivocal and consistent in condemning Hamas and we will always do that” at the Liaison Committee this week.
An “immediate temporary humanitarian pause needs to be accompanied by the unconditional release of the hostages so that we can get more aid in and unfortunately Hamas have not complied with that and they’re the ones that are responsible and we should never lose sight of that”.
Prime Minister Sunak’s comments were in response to CFI Parliamentary Chair (Commons) Rt. Hon. Stephen Crabb MP who raised that Monday’s UN Security Council Resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire “contains not a word of condemnation of Hamas or any conditionality around hostage release”.
Foreign Minister Andrew Mitchell: Government “regret” that UN resolution does not condemn 7 October attacks
“We regret that this resolution did not condemn the abhorrent and brutal terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas on 7 October”, Foreign Office Minister Andrew Mitchell said in a statement on Tuesday to the House of Commons on the United Nations Security Council resolution 2728, which passed on Monday.
“We want to see an immediate, sustained humanitarian pause, which would allow for the safe release of hostages and more aid to reach Gaza”, the Foreign Office Minister added. “This resolution sets out the urgent demand for the ‘unconditional release of all hostages’”.
CFI Parliamentary Vice-Chair Rt. Hon. Theresa Villiers MP said, “I just don’t understand how the Minister and Foreign Secretary can say that in policy terms nothing has changed when the UK has just voted for a resolution that does not condemn the Hamas atrocity of October 7 and delinks a ceasefire with the release of hostages”.
“The requirement for immediate access to those hostages by the International Red Cross to assess their conditions and indeed whether they can travel at all”, was left out of the UN resolution, CFI Parliamentary Officer Bob Blackman CBE MP raised.
CFI Parliamentary Officer Dr Matthew Offord MP said the UN resolution “emboldens Hamas” and “has undermined efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas with a collapse in negotiations”.
Rt. Hon. Sir Alec Shelbrooke KBE MP stated that, “a ceasefire has to take place on all sides and for those who want Israel to lay down its arms and not insist on Hamas laying down arms are basically saying Israel does not have the right to make sure its security is in place”, and called for Hamas to dismantle its organisation which “threatens the lives of Jewish people who they do not think should exist”.
Greg Smith MP shared his concerns that, “only a few weeks ago the UK previously explained at the UN that it could not vote for a resolution which did not condemn the atrocities Hamas committed and that simply calling for a ceasefire would not make one happen. They even said last month that such a resolution could endanger the hostage negotiations”.
Greg Smith MP: When Hamas “surrender” there will be “peace in the Middle East again”
“My plea is for Hamas to surrender, for Hamas to give up power, for Hamas to release the hostages. At that point, we can have peace in the Middle East again”, Greg Smith MP said on Times Radio on Wednesday evening.
Smith told listeners that “if the terrorists are allowed to continue to run Gaza, no matter how many ceasefires you have, no matter how many pauses you have, no matter how long this goes on, Hamas will rearm and their stated aim is the destruction of the State of Israel. Their stated aim is to kill people of the Jewish faith. So until they are removed from control in Gaza there can be no peace in the Middle East. There can be no security for Israel. We have got to get to a position where Hamas have been removed”.
Victims of the 7 October Festival Massacre held by UK Border Force Officers: “we had to make sure you are not going to do what you are doing in Gaza”
Two victims of the Nova Festival massacre were detained and treated with suspicion by UK Border Force Officers at Manchester Airport on Sunday, who held them in a two-hour interrogation to “make sure you are not going to do what you are doing in Gaza”.
The survivors, brothers Neria and Daniel Sharabi had survived the massacre and instead of fleeing, remained at the festival site to save others, combat the terrorists and treat the wounded.
Former Attorney General Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Ellis KC MP highlighted that, “two innocent victims of the [Nova] music festival slaughter were berated and told ‘we have to make sure you are not going to do what you are doing in Gaza over here’… Blaming all Jews for the actions of their country is obviously antisemitic”, urging the House of Commons to condemn the drastic rise in antisemitism since 7 October.
“These are people in uniform acting for this country as Border Force Officers. It is a disgrace beyond all proportions. Their detention was clearly unlawful for several hours”, Sir Michael stated.
Neria Sharabi, who had arrived in Manchester to share 7 October testimonies with the Manchester Jewish Community, said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post that the officials’ “faces immediately changed. I saw the antisemitism in their eyes, form the moment they started interrogating us”.
British officials reportedly asked the survivors what they were going to talk about and about their mandatory IDF service. They were interrogated about how long they served in the army, and what roles their served in.
Rio Cinema investigated by Charity Commission after vow to boycott Eurovision over Israel’s participation
In response to a letter written by CFI Vice Chair Andrew Percy MP and former Attorney General Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Ellis KC MP, the Charity Commission said Rio Cinema’s behaviour was “concerning” and that they had also “received concerns from members of the public”. The East London cinema is now being investigated by the Charity Commission.
Sir Michael condemned the cinema for boycotting a “popular international music competition because the only Jewish nation is competing”.
According to the Articles of Association which incorporated Rio Cinema as a charity, the group must strive to “promote education… without distinction of sex or political, religious opinions”. Refusing to screen the Grand Final of Eurovision while Israel remains in the competition is regarded as a contradiction of its stated aims.
New UK-Med field hospital in Gaza begins treatment
A new UK-Med field hospital in Gaza holds a capacity of 66 beds, 200 personnel, and comprehensive care.
This is the seventh field hospital of its kind that Israel’s COGAT has facilitated.
TRIGGER WARNING: Amit Soussana, released Israeli hostage, recounts Hamas’ sexual violence and torture
“He sat me on the edge of the bath. And I closed my legs. And I resisted. And he kept punching me and put his gun in my face. Then he dragged me to the bedroom”, Amit Soussana, 40, who was released in the previous hostage deal, recounted of her captivity by Hamas in a recently published New York Times interview.
Mohammed, the terrorist who assaulted Soussana, called “came towards me and shoved the gun at my forehead… then he, with the gun pointed at me, forced me to commit a sexual act on him”, Soussana said, after describing how she had undressed and began washing herself in the bathtub when Muhammad stood in the doorway holding a pistol, before the abuse occurred.
Sometimes Mohamed would enter the bedroom she was being held in, sit beside her on the bed, lift her shirt and touch her, Soussana testified.
After being moved to Nuseriat, Hamas terrorists summoned her to a living room where they started beating her with the butt of a gun, before duct taping her mouth and nose, tying her feet, and placing the handcuffs on the base of her palms. Then she was suspended for 45 minutes, hanging “like a chicken” from a stick stitching between two couches, causing her such pain that she felt that her hands would soon be dislocated.
Soussana and two older hostages were separated and taken to the tunnels after being abused. The kidnappers then brought them to another private house.
TRIGGER WARNING: Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist confesses to rape and shooting on 7 October
“I raped her”, confessed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist Manar Qassem during an IDF interrogation, after being captured by the IDF earlier this month in Khan Younis, Gaza.
“I took her and threw her on the couch,” Qassem said, recalling in detail what the woman who he encountered looked like and what she was wearing, after he startled her upon entering an unnamed Kibbutz.
“The devil took over me, I laid her down, started undressing her, and did what I did”, he stated. “She pushed me, it didn’t last long… Two minutes. Maybe a minute and a half,” he says.
Qassem reported that two members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a terror group associated with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, entered the home and held the woman with her mother before taking both outside. It was not clear if the woman was alive at the time.
He also admitted to shooting one Israeli man, throwing one of his grenades and fleeing the kibbutz.
The IDF said the footage is “further proof of the onslaught of murder and sexual violence by the terrorist organisations on October 7”.
Hamas terrorist: “Between 600-1000 operatives” are inside Shifa Hospital
The Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad use Gaza’s Shifa Hospital Maternity Ward as “their headquarters”, Bakr Ahmed Bakr Qanita, Head of Department at the Hamas’ Security and Protection unit, said during IDF questioning in new footage released by Israel on Tuesday night.
He added that “between 600-1000 operatives” utilise the medical facility. “Hamas uses the Management Building and the Specialist Building and the Maternity Ward, in the department below”.
“Shifa or schools and places like that, are our shelter”, added Nabeel Rajab Abed Shteiwi, a PIJ terrorist who has produced missiles “since around the year 2012”. “You might see someone who doesn’t look like a nurse but is dressed in nurse clothes and walking around”, Shteiwi said.
Hamas and PIJ terrorists use the hospitals all over Gaza, “because of the large population, the large displacement, there is water and electricity, and there is always movement”, Bakr Ahmed Bakr Qanita said.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated, “not a single civilian, patient, doctor, or medical staff member was harmed in this operation – only terrorists. The IDF has transferred patients to a building, provided them with treatment, aid and medical equipment, contrary to Hamas’ course of action”. He added that the IDF have “apprehended five hundred terrorists affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad” in Shifa Hospital – the largest number of terrorists apprehended since the war began.
Shifa Hospital has lost protected status under International Law, due to the terrorist operations taking place inside, becoming a legitimate target for the IDF.
The IDF has separately initiated focused operations at the Al-Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis “following intelligence from the Intelligence Directorate and the ISA regarding new terror infrastructure in the area”, Hagari said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader praises Palestinian terrorist organisation’s propaganda efforts
“The propaganda and media activities of the Palestinian resistance have been very good so far, ahead of the Zionist enemy [Israel], and more action should be taken in this field”, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said following a meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday.
Haniyeh “conveyed his gratitude and appreciation for the support extended by both the populace and government of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the Palestinian cause”, Iran’s Supreme Leader’s office said.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi told Haniyeh that “the people of the world hate the Zionist criminal regime [Israel] and the U.S. as its main supporter with all their heart, and they love the oppressed people of Gaza”, Iran’s IRNA outlet reported.
U.S. State Department: Israel not in violation of international humanitarian law
“We’ve had ongoing assessments of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law… we have not found them to be in violation, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or the provision of humanitarian assistance”, State Department spokesman Matt Miller said on Monday.
The U.S. State Department have, and continue to assess Israel’s compliance with international law as recipients of U.S. military aid.
25-year-old killed by Hezbollah rockets launched at northern Israel
The Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah launched a barrage of 30 rockets at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, on Wednesday – killing 25-year old Ein Qiniyye resident Zaher Bashara.
A “significant terrorist” of the Jama’a al-Islamiya terror group and six other terrorists who “advanced attacks against Israeli territory” were killed in airstrikes after the barrage, the IDF said.
The head of Jamaa al-Islamiva told the Associated Press, that they “were in coordination with Hamas”.
Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire have sounded this afternoon in largely evacuated northern border communities including Shlomi, Rosh Hanikra, Lehman, Betzet and Achziv Miluot Industrial Zone.
Iran’s proxies have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the northern border on a near-daily basis with rockets, drones, anti-tank missiles, and other means since 7 October.
Terrorist attack against school buses and other cars leave three Israelis wounded this morning
A terrorist opened fire in a shooting attack against school buses and other cars on a major highway in the West Bank town of al-Auja.
The IDF said it had launched a manhunt for the terrorist, and that troops were blocking roads in the area.
Two bulletproof school buses and at least two cars were hit in the attack as they drove through al-Auja, according to medics and local authorities.
A 30-year-old man was shot and left in moderate to serious condition and another man was shot and lightly hurt, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said.
In the second car, a 13-year-old boy was hit by glass shards, but was not severely injured.
Dashcam footage captured when one of the buses came under fire. Another clip from after the attack showed more than six bullet impacts on the side of the bus.
Another dashcam video showed the gunman opening fire with an assault rifle.
