Note to reader: We wanted to give you a trigger warning on what you may read below. We have chosen, as with every night 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.
What you need to know today:
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said “Israel has every right to defend itself…People in that country would expect nothing less” during PMQs, ahead of SNP-backed ceasefire vote which was rejected by Commons this evening.
• 25 Conservative parliamentarians attended private screening of footage from Hamas’s October 7th massacre hosted by Britain-Israel All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).
• The IDF has released footage documenting Hamas weapons (including grenades and AK47’s), Hamas uniforms and other military equipment within Shifa Hospital’s MRI Centre.
• Al Jazeera cut short an interview after a Gazan said that Hamas can “go to hell” for hiding “among the people”.
25 Conservative Parliamentarians attend screening of footage from Hamas’ 7th October massacre
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak asserted during PMQ’s that “Israel has every right to defend itself…People in that country would expect nothing less than for it to provide security for its citizens”.
“I’ve been consistent from the start that whilst Israel has a right to defend itself, it is important that it complies with international law”, he added.
Former Cabinet Minister Rt. Hon. David Davis MP called for the proscription of the IRGC.
Conservative Parliamentarians Attend Private Screening of October 7th Atrocities
25 Conservative parliamentarians were joined by cross-party Members from across both Houses at a private viewing of the Hamas massacres of October 7th, together with Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK, Oren Marmorstein. The screening was hosted by the Britain-Israel All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).
The Secretary of State for Wales David TC Davies, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Johnny Mercer, and Chair of the Britain-Israel APPG and CFI Officer Bob Blackman CBE MP were among those in attendance. The Deputy Ambassador said that “it’s important that the world will see the atrocities that Hamas committed on October 7th”.
Conservative MPs stand up for Israel during King’s Speech Debate
Conservative MPs emphasised support for Israel and the UK’s Jewish community during the King’s Speech today in the House of Commons, ahead of a SNP-backed motion calling for a ceasefire which was rejected by the House of Commons – 293 no votes and 125 yes votes.
Police Minister Chris Philp, who closed the debate for the Government, said “a ceasefire with Hamas in place can’t be just. Hamas have said they intend to destroy Israel. They have said they will once again perpetrate atrocities like the those committed on October 7th. They continue to hold hostages including children and British citizens. They continue to fire rockets into Israel. To ask Israel to ceasefire unilaterally would not be fair or just”.
Former Attorney General Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Ellis KC MP said that there is a “rich and sad irony” about today’s debate on a ceasefire. “Hamas openly say that they will fight on to kill as many Jews as possible – not only Israelis – Jews”. Israel will be doing “the world and indeed, the Palestinian people” a great service by destroying Hamas he continued, arguing that “a ceasefire would play into the hands of terrorists and terrorism”. The “Scottish Nationalists have engineered an amendment” to “incommode and undermine the Labour leadership, but what they actually undermine is community cohesion and the Jewish community in this country”.
Addressing the community directly, Sir Michael said “there is a great deal of fear”. Many British Jews feel “decidedly unsafe and abandoned, vulnerable and isolated and who have effectively been banned from Central London for several weekends now by the risible failure of police actions and the one-sided prejudicial reporting of the BBC and others”.
He continued by comparing the “deep hatred of Israel from multiple quarters” to a lack of “similar responses when hundreds of thousands of Muslims and others are killed in conflict elsewhere”, such as in Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia-Tigray, Azerbaijan-Armenia, in China, Kurdish regions and East Timor. “It is difficult not to come to the conclusion that the screaming about Israel is based on the ancient hatred of antisemitism. Why else ignore larger losses of life – we see hate, we see descent and we see division”.
He condemned “gangs of proto-fascists” which have crowded around Marks & Spencer’s branches because it was once a “Jewish-owned company”, pointing out that Mr Marks first came to the UK escaping a pogrom in the 1880’s.
Sir Michael noted that the “ISIS-style pogrom of the 7th October” was launched to destroy “the blooming flower of a relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia”, which could see “perhaps a dozen” Muslim-majority nations follow suit. “The good news is that this will still happen”, building on the “historic Abraham Accords” which has “bourn rich fruit”, he said. Iran’s “irredeemable”, “evil designs” was condemned.
Sir Charles Walker MP spoke out against the “wickedness of antisemitism”. He recalled that worshippers leaving a Synagogue in Maida Vale were “abused and suffered verbal threats”, a “house in north London displaying a mezuzah was doused in paint from top to bottom – not acceptable”. “If any Jews face harm I [and allies of the community] will place ourselves in front of those Jews to defend them from that harm. That is a solemn commitment on my behalf”. “The Jewish community in this country is small, 279,000”, Sir Walker continued, “but they are deserving of all of our support”.
Tom Hunt MP was “appalled and shocked” at “antisemitic posters, displaying a hatred we really hope has no place in our society”. “It’s not enough [for the Police] to post pictures after the events” he said, urging the police to “get in their straight away and hold them to account, and punish them for their hate they are spreading”.
“I want a two-state solution just like everybody else does, but I’m just not convinced that an immediate ceasefire, right now, would work and is appropriate when one side would not respect it” – “Hamas must be destroyed”.
Recalling his visit to the Kibbutzim on the Gaza border with CFI, Mr Hunt pledged that “we must never forget the evil that happened on October 7th“and that “the enemy of the people of Gaza is Hamas. We must work cross-party to support them being destroyed, but at the same time – every step must be taken to minimise loss of life. But its incredibly hard when Hamas are using innocent people as human shields”.
David Simmonds MP welcomed the work of the Government to support “humanitarian efforts for the residents of Gaza, who are of course themselves victims of Hamas in their own right”. Hamas’ “absolute refusal to countenance a ceasefire, now or at any previous occasion – does tend to nullify the humanitarian purpose of ceasefire calls”. “If we are to break that long-term circle of violence, we need to ensure that we don’t vote for a ceasefire”.
IDF discovers Hamas weapons at Shifa Hospital’s MRI Centre
The IDF has released footage documenting Hamas weapons (including grenades and AK47’s), Hamas uniforms and other military equipment within Shifa Hospital’s MRI Centre, which it says “unequivocally prove that the hospital was used for terror, in complete violation of international law”.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, in an evening press conference, says troops found Hamas uniforms “that were thrown on the hospital floor so that the terrorists could escape in civilian guise”.
The discovery is believed to have been made overnight and today during a targeted operation against Hamas by the IDF in a specified area of Shifa Hospital, in which they conducted searches for Hamas terror infrastructure and weapons.
Hamas fighters attacked the IDF outside the Shifa Hospital with gunfire and explosives overnight – at least 5 Hamas gunmen were killed, confirming Hamas’ presence within the hospital complex. The IDF today checked the identities of those inside a specified area of the hospital in conjunction with Arabic speakers from IDF and medical staff. There is no indication that the IDF used weapons during the operations conducted within the hospital itself.
The United States, yesterday, independently verified Israel’s long-standing claim that the Shifa Hospital is used by Hamas as a command and control centre, using tunnels and bunkers underneath the building. Forces have now withdrawn from the hospital. The U.S. Hamas’s use of hospitals for terror activities was “a violation of the rules of war”.
A 2015 report by Amnesty International also alleges that Shifa hospital has served as a Hamas interrogation and torture centre.
There is now video evidence of suicide vests, rocket propelled grenades, motorcycles used to kidnap Israelis to Gaza, nappies, chairs with rope to hold hostages – all found in the basement of the Rantisi Children’s Hospital in Gaza. This points to the hospitals use by Hamas and the group is believed to have held Israeli hostages there.
The evidence bolsters IDF intelligence that was released prior, detailing Hamas use of Gaza hospitals for terror purposes, including the Shifa Hospital, Indonesian Hospital, Rantisi Hospital and amongst major schools.
The IDF reports that at least 900 Hamas rocket launches have been carried out from civilian sites including schools, mosques, hospitals and cultural centres. Tens of thousands of Palestinian patients and displaced people are understood to be inside Shifa Hospital.
Israel disclosed that some of the 240 hostages were held captive within both the Shifa hospital and Rantisi hospital at one point, and is now searching for evidence of where they have been moved to.
IDF Humanitarian Assistance
The IDF has been operating an evacuation route for civilians to leave Shifa hospital and has also given Hamas a 12-hour warning to cease military operations within the hospital complex.
The IDF are in contact with Shifa Hospital’s senior staff to help facilitate humanitarian assistance. Overnight, as per the request of the Director at Shifa Hospital, the IDF transferred incubators, baby food and additional medical supplies to the hospital compound, whilst its doctors prepare to transfer 37 premature babies to a hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip with assistance from the IDF.
Immediately following October 7th, a ‘humanitarian situation monitoring mechanism’ was established by Israel, linking professionals with international organisations to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the private sector in the Gaza Strip for humanitarian purposes.
IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari has said that “there is no siege (…) on Shifa Hospital. The east side of the hospital is open for the safe passage of Gazans who wish to leave the hospital. We’re speaking directly and regularly with the hospital staff.” On Sunday, the IDF opened additional humanitarian corridors from the Shifa, Rantisi and Nassar hospitals, in order for civilians and patients to evacuate on foot if they were able or via ambulance to the South. Israeli-operated humanitarian corridors have reportedly been used by approx. 250,000 Palestinians since being secured and opened by the IDF on November 5th. Hamas has reportedly attacked these humanitarian corridors.
Today, Israel facilitated the provision of fuel to UNRWA trucks to enable aid delivery into Gaza and is holding intensive talks aimed at establishing field hospitals within and outside of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has previously tried to sneak its fighters out of the Gaza Strip in ambulances – preventing the evacuation of wounded Palestinians to Egypt, according to U.S. authorities. A third of the names on lists provided to Egypt and Israel by Hamas were known terrorists, leading to the civilians requiring medical attention being delayed.
Israel Updates
The IDF took control of the Gaza Government building, and destroyed it in its efforts to eradicate Hamas.
The US Navy shot down drones launched by Yemen again today over the Red Sea.
Seven Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have blocked an Iranian-led proposal at an emergency summit of Arab and Islamic states hosted in Riyadh to sever diplomatic and economic relations with Israel, deny it airspace, and “threaten to use oil as a means of leverage” to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
CFI Vice Chair Andrew Percy MP attended the largest pro-Israel demonstration yet seen, calling for the release of hostages and in support of Israel. The nearly 300,000-strong rally in Washington D.C. was addressed by President Isaac Herzog via video-link, who stated that “Never Again is now”. The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations helped to organise the rally together with its 50-member groups. Another 250,000 watched on livestreams and C-SPAN, an American news service.
Al Jazeera today cut short an interview after a Gazan said that Hamas can “go to hell” for hiding “among the people”.
During this difficult time please consider donating to Magen David Adom’s urgent appeal https://mdauk.org/
Please also email your MP to share your support with Israel. You can do this via We Believe in Israel: https://tinyurl.com/mr2rcbej
