Keir Starmer can't set out Israel 'red lines' in war against Hamas

Asked directly what his “red lines” were in backing Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas attacks, the Labour leader said he was concentrated on “those innocent individuals who are caught in this” but would not say on what grounds he might criticise Israel.

He is facing growing pressure from within his party to take a stronger stance on the conflict and has so far failed to call for a ceasefire or comment on whether he believes Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.

Two Labour council leaders in England have now called for Starmer to stand down as party leader over his refusal to call for a ceasefire or criticise Israel while big names such as Anas Sarwar, Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham have all called for a ceasefire.

They join a group which includes just shy of a third of Labour MPs and a handful of frontbenchers in doing so.

Starmer was asked at an event in County Durham on Friday whether he would condemn Israel if it was found to have used white phosphorous on civilians in Gaza and Lebanon, as has been argued by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

He replied: ““Well I set out my position clearly on Tuesday and what we’ve seen is the worst terrorist attack on Israel since the Holocaust and a humanitarian crisis that was already in existence in Gaza, which has claimed far too many innocent lives already, we have to alleviate that.

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“At the moment, the only practical way to do that is with humanitarian pauses and you’ve…to say to a sovereign country, when 200 of its civilians are being held hostage, they must give up their right to self-defence, is it not for me the correct position.

“Anyone who’s watched the images in the last two or three days has seen precisely what Hamas is saying about this.

“So what we have to do is concentrate on the need, concentrate on those innocent individuals who are caught in this, the children, the young people, the civilians in Gaza, those in Israel who are subject still to being subject to attacks.

“We have to say humanitarian pauses to get that aid in and alleviate the situation. I think our focus should be on those that most desperately need our support and help, not on political voices in our own country.”

Taking the US lead

Speaking earlier, Starmer said he was in line with the American position which was to call for “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict to allow aid in to “alleviating the awful suffering” of those caught up in the war.

He said: “I understand why people feel very strongly about this, not just in the Labour Party, I think in all political parties and across the country because every day we can see the awful suffering going on in Israel and in Gaza.

“And for me this isn’t about the particular position taken by individuals within the Labour Party, it’s about alleviating that suffering and just at the moment, we desperately need humanitarian aid to get in faster into Gaza.

Palestinian day laborers in Israel arrive in the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing brought by the Israeli authorities (Image: AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

“We can see the images of children and innocent civilians dying and suffering in the situation there.

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"I think that the quickest way and the most practical and effective way to get that changed is to have a humanitarian pause and to pile on the pressure to get those trucks in with the aid that is needed, the water, the medicines and fuel that is desperately needed.

“As we speak Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken is in Israel, calling for those very things in line with what I said just two or three days ago.

“So my focus is on alleviating the awful suffering of all of those that are caught up in the situation that’s developed over the last few weeks, whatever the individual positions of members of my party.”