Prince William has made an unprecedented royal intervention into the Gaza conflict by issuing a statement saying he feels ‘deeply concerned’ about its ‘human cost’ – and called for an end to the war.
The Prince of Wales, 41, ramped up his family’s response to the Israel-Hamas war after he and wife Kate had earlier put out a joint statement of ‘distress’.
William has been easing himself back into public engagements after taking time off to look after his wife who is recovering from abdominal surgery.
Yet in a new and impassioned statement today, he insisted ‘too many have been killed’ since Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October last year.
His public response is the most outspoken by any member of the royal family since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
Prince William has released an impassioned statement in which he says ‘too many’ have been killed’ in the conflict between Israel and Hamas
Prince William has today issued the royals’ strongest statement yet on the Gaza conflict
‘Their Royal Highnesses hold all the victims, their families and their friends in their hearts and minds,’ a spokesperson previously said on behalf of William and Kate, pictured
William said today: ‘I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October. Too many have been killed.
‘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. I continue to cling to the hope that a brighter future can be found and I refuse to give up on that.’
Following the attack on Israel last October, the Prince and Princess of Wales released a statement condemning Hamas.
The royal couple said they were ‘profoundly distressed’ by what they had witnessed.
A statement released on their behalf read: ‘As Israel exercises its right of self defence, all Israelis and Palestinians will continue to be stalked by grief, fear and anger in the time to come.
‘Their Royal Highnesses hold all the victims, their families and their friends in their hearts and minds.’
Prince William met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara during his visit to the country in 2018
The future King shook hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in 2018
The Prince visited the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem in 2018
On behalf of the King, a Buckingham Palace spokesman previously said: ‘This is a situation His Majesty is extremely concerned about and he has asked to be kept actively updated.
‘His thoughts and prayers are with all of those suffering, particularly those who have lost loved ones, but also those actively involved as we speak.’
He added: ‘His Majesty is appalled by and condemns the barbaric acts of terrorism in Israel.’
In the October 7 attack, Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel and killed about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – while taking an estimated 250 hostage.
Militants still hold about 130 hostages, a fourth of them believed to be dead.
Most of the others were released during a week-long ceasefire in November.
The war has killed at least 29,092 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
About 80 per cent of Gaza’s population have been driven from their homes and a quarter face starvation.
A source close to US President Joe Biden says he feels Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured right as the pair meet, is ‘giving him hell’ over ceasefire negotiations
Global concern has mounted over the fate of 1.4million Palestinians forced by fighting into Rafah near the Egyptian border – amid dire food shortages in crowded makeshift shelters
Demonstrations have been staged in both the UK and the US calling for a ceasefire – this one pictured held yesterday in the Queens district of New York
US president Joe Biden has called for a temporary ceasefire to allow the release of hostages
The heavy death toll and widespread damage have led to mounting criticism of Israel and growing calls for a ceasefire.
The United States has proposed a potential United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza in what appeared to be the latest move by the White House to rein in Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the draft resolution the US says there should be a temporary ceasefire ‘as soon as practicable’, although no date was given.
Washington has previously been averse to the word ceasefire in any UN action relating to its ally Israel’s war against Hamas.