As the flow of images of destruction and hunger in Gaza has continued, fuelling protests in countries across the world, Israel has struggled to turn world opinion. PHOTO: REUTERS

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the leaders of France, Britain and Canada of wanting to help the Palestinian militant group Hamas after they threatened to take “concrete action” if Israel did not stop its latest offensive in Gaza.

The criticism, echoing similar remarks from Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on May 22, was part of a fightback by the Israeli government against the increasingly heavy international pressure on it over the war in Gaza.

“You’re on the wrong side of humanity and you’re on the wrong side of history,” Mr Netanyahu said, accusing the three countries of supporting “mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers”, in reference to the October 2023 attacks on Israel.

As the flow of images of destruction and hunger in Gaza has continued, fuelling protests in countries across the world, Israel has struggled to turn world opinion, which has increasingly shifted against it despite the Hamas attacks.

“It’s hard to convince at least some people, definitely on the far left in the US and in some countries in Europe, that what Israel is doing is a war of defence,” said former Israeli diplomat Yaki Dayan.

“But this is how it is perceived in Israel and bridging this gap is sometimes an impossible mission,” he said.

Israeli officials have been particularly concerned about growing calls for European countries including France to follow others such as Spain and Ireland in recognising a Palestinian state, as part of a two-state solution to resolve decades of conflict in the region.

Mr Netanyahu argues a Palestinian state would threaten Israel. As a clear example of that threat, he cited the killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington on May 20 by a man who allegedly shouted “Free Palestine”.

He said “exactly the same chant” was heard during the attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct 7, 2023.

“They don’t want a Palestinian state. They want to destroy the Jewish state,” he said in a statement on the social media platform X.

“I could never understand how this simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada and others,” he said, adding that any moves by Western countries to recognise a Palestinian state would “reward these murderers with the ultimate prize”.

Instead of advancing peace, the three leaders were “emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever,” he said.

Aid blockade

The Israeli leader, whose government depends on far-right support, said Hamas had thanked French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Canada’s Mark Carney over what he said was their demand for an immediate end to the war.

The leaders’ statement on May 19 did not demand an immediate end to the war, but a halt to Israel’s new military offensive on Gaza and a lifting of its restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Israel had prevented aid from entering Gaza since March, before relaxing its blockade this week.

“By issuing their demand – replete with a threat of sanctions against Israel, against Israel, not Hamas – these three leaders effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power,” Mr Netanyahu said.

“And they give them hope to establish a second Palestinian state from which Hamas will again seek to destroy the Jewish state.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France was “unwaveringly committed to Israel’s security”.

He said it was determined to combat anti-Semitism and that it was “absurd and slanderous” to accuse supporters of a two-state solution of encouraging anti-Semitism or Hamas.

Asked about Mr Netanyahu’s remarks, Britain’s armed forces minister Luke Pollard said London stood with Israel in their right to self-defence, “but that self-defence must be conducted within the bounds of international humanitarian law”.

“At this moment, we stand fast against terrorism, but we also want to make sure that the aid is getting into Gaza,” he told Times Radio. REUTERS

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Keir Starmer of being “on the wrong side of justice, humanity and history”, after the UK Prime Minister, together with French President Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, released a joint statement calling on Israel to end its military operation in Gaza immediately.

In a video released after the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC, Netanyahu spoke about how the chant from the terrorist as he was taken by American police was “exactly the same chant we heard on October 7th”. Talking about Hamas, the Israeli leader described them as “Neo-Nazis”, for whom “free Palestine’ is just today’s version of ‘Heil Hitler’. They want to destroy the Jewish state. They want to annihilate the Jewish people, who have been in the Land of Israel for 3,500 years.

“I could never understand how this simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada and others”, Netanyahu continued.

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“They are now proposing to establish a Palestinian state and reward these murderers with the ultimate prize.

“You won’t be surprised to learn that Hamas thanked President Macron and Prime Ministers Starmer and Carney for demanding that Israel end its war in Gaza immediately. Hamas was right to thank them. Because by issuing their demand – replete with a threat of sanctions against Israel, against Israel, not Hamas – these three leaders effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power. They want Israel to stand down and accept that Hamas’s army of mass murderers will survive, rebuild and repeat the October 7th massacre again and again and again because that’s what Hamas has vowed to do.

“I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Starmer: When mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you’re on the wrong side of justice. You’re on the wrong side of humanity and you’re on the wrong side of history.”

In the joint statement on Monday, Starmer, Macron and Carney said: “We call on the Israeli Government to stop its military operations in Gaza and immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza”. The three leaders warned that “we will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.” Their statement also called on Hamas to release the remaining hostages and made clear that they supported “a long-term -political solution” which would include “ending Hamas’s control of Gaza”.

The UK also announced this week that it was suspending free-trade agreement talks with Israel, and imposed sanctions on a number of senior figures in the Israeli settler movement.

Commenting further on the joint statement by Starmer, Macron and Carney, said: “these leaders may think that they’re advancing peace. They’re not. They’re emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever. And they give them hope to establish a second Palestinian state from which Hamas will again seek to destroy the Jewish state. And mind you, it’s not going to be a state free of Hamas. When you establish a Palestinian state, we’ve seen it, the radicals take over. Iran sends them in and they take over. So don’t give us this talk, ‘It’ll be a peaceful Palestinian state’. It won’t be.

Netanyahu also appeared to lay the blame for the Washington DC murders at the feet of Tom Fletcher, the United Nations’ Emergency Relief Coordinator. On Monday Fletcher claimed on live television that if aid was not immediately let in to Gaza “14,000 babies will die within 48 hours”. The statement was reported internationally and was cited by more than a dozen MPs in a House of Commons debate. It subsequently transpired that the claim had originated from a report which estimated that if food aid to Gaza did not resume, 14,000 young children could be at the risk of severe malnutrition over the next year.

Netanyahu referred to “Hamas’s propaganda that says Israel is starving Palestinian children. And not only is Hamas putting out this lie. A few days ago, a top UN official said that 14,000 Palestinian babies would die in 48 hours. You see many international institutions are complicit in spreading this lie. The press repeats it. The mob believed it. And a young couple is then brutally gunned down in Washington.”

The Israeli embassy identified their murdered staffers, who were shot outside an American Jewish Congress event, as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim.

So here are the facts: Since October 7th, Israel has sent 92,000 aid trucks into Gaza. That’s right. 92,000 aid trucks. That includes 1.8 million tons of aid. 1.8 million tons of aid – more than enough food to feed everyone in Gaza. Yet as we had let the aid come in, Hamas stole it. They took a huge chunk for themselves. The rest they sold at exorbitant prices to the Palestinian population. And then they used the money they stole to recruit new terrorists to continue their war against Israel.”

Netanyahu said that Israel “has devised a mechanism to achieve this goal. American companies will distribute the food directly to Palestinian families. They’ll do so in safe zones secured by our military. And this will allow us to complete our goal of destroying Hamas while enabling aid to reach the civilian population. We’ll complete the construction of the first distribution zones in the coming days. Ultimately, we intend to have large safe zones in the south of Gaza. The Palestinian population will move there for their own safety, while we conduct combat in other zones, and receive humanitarian aid there without Hamas interference. In the meantime, we authorized letting trucks enter Gaza to provide for immediate needs.

“Yesterday I think 100, more than 100 trucks went in. More will come in today. I tell you this: no army in the world has ever gone to such lengths to provide aid to the civilian population in the midst of intense combat.”

Responding to news of the Washington murders yesterday, Starmer said that he “thoroughly condemn[ed] the antisemitic attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC.

“Antisemitism is an evil we must stamp out wherever it appears. My thoughts are with their colleagues, family and loved ones, and, as always, I stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.”

Britain and France flatly rejected Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation against Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron that they are “on the wrong side of humanity” after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington DC.

The Israeli premier attacked the Prime Minister and French president for “emboldening Hamas” a day after young diplomat couple Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim were killed in the United States capital.

He also condemned a recent joint statement between the Labour leader, Mr Macron and Canada’s Mark Carney, which took aim at Israel’s “egregious” actions in Gaza.

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But the UK Government hit back at the claims.

“I don’t agree with those comments,” Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard told LBC Radio when asked about the “wrong side of humanity” accusation.

“We condemn in the fullest possible terms the murder of the Israeli diplomats in the United States.

“That is completely unacceptable.

“But the argument that we have been making about how we bring peace to Israel and to the Palestinians is with a restoration of the immediate ceasefire, with Hamas releasing the hostages without any further delay and for massive amounts of aid to get into Gaza to give the Palestinians the food, water and medical support that they need.

Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim (Embassy of Israel to the USA)

“What we are seeing, the humanitarian situation in Gaza, is unacceptable.”

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French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France was “unwaveringly committed to Israel’s security”.

He stressed it was determined to combat antisemitism and that it was “absurd and slanderous” to accuse supporters of a two-state solution of encouraging antisemitism or Hamas.

Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu’s office thanked US President Donald Trump “for the efforts he and his administration are making against manifestations of antisemitism in the US”.

His comments came after the UK this week suspended talks on a trade deal with Israel, summoned the country’s ambassador and imposed fresh sanctions on West Bank settlers.

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Elias Rodriguez, 31, the alleged Washington gunman, shot Mr Lischinsky and Ms Milgrim, who were due to get engaged, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum just after 9pm on Wednesday.

The suspect was detained at the scene

The American Osteopathic Information Association employee then chanted “Free Palestine” inside the building, where he was apprehended and arrested by police.

He was charged on Thursday with two counts of first degree murder, murder of foreign officials, causing death with a firearm and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence — and may face the death penalty if convicted.

In London, a small group of people gathered outside Israel’s embassy on Thursday evening, holding pictures of the two diplomats who were killed.

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Mr Netanyahu directed blame for the killings towards Western leaders following the tragedy, suggesting their recent condemnation of Israel’s aid blockade and resumed offensive against Hamas following the October 7 massacre was at least partly behind the incident.

He also accused the three of buying into “Hamas propaganda” that Israel is starving Gazan children, and claimed the formation of an independent Palestine will allow radicals sent from Iran “take over” the territory and “destroy the Jewish state”.

Mr Netanyahu said: “I could never understand how this simple truth evades the leaders of France, Britain, Canada, and others. They’re now proposing to establish a Palestinian state and reward these murders with the ultimate prize.

“Well, for 18 years, we had a de facto Palestinian state. It’s called Gaza. And what did we get? Peace? No, we got the most savage slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.

Hamas was right to thank them

Benjamin Netanyahu

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“You won’t be surprised to learn that Hamas thanked President Macron and Prime Minister Starmer and Carney for demanding that Israel end its war in Gaza immediately.

“Hamas was right to thank them, because by issuing their demand, replete with a threat of sanctions against Israel, against Israel, not Hamas, these three leaders effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power.”

Addressing the trio directly, he added: “I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney, and Prime Minister Starmer, when mass murderers, rapists, baby killers, and kidnappers thank you, you’re on the wrong side of justice, you’re on the wrong side of humanity, and you’re on the wrong side of history.”

On the claim made by the United Nations’ humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher on Tuesday’s edition of BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme that 14,000 Gazan babies would die in 48 hours because of Israel’s aid blockaide, Mr Netanyahu alleged: “International institutions are complicit in spreading this lie. The press repeats it, the mob believed it, and a young couple is then brutally gunned down in Washington.”

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On Tuesday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron and Mr Carney signed a joint letter opposing the expansion of Israel’s operations in Gaza “risks breaching international humanitarian law”, adding that the level of human suffering is “intolerable”.

They also called on Hamas to release remaining hostages it took in the “heinous attack” on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people.

Palestinians ride a cart past the rubble of houses in Gaza (REUTERS)

Another statement followed, signed by 27 donor countries including the UK, condemning a new Gaza aid delivery model being promoted by Israel.

A total of 107 aid trucks belonging to the United Nations and other aid groups carrying flour, food, medical equipment and pharmaceutical drugs were transferred on Thursday into the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said on Friday.

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But aid agencies say far more supplies are needed.

Earlier, Sir Keir condemned the Washington killings, saying: “I thoroughly condemn the antisemitic attack outside the Israeli embassy in Washington DC. Antisemitism is an evil we must stamp out wherever it appears. My thoughts are with their colleagues, family and loved ones, and as always, I stand in solidarity with the Jewish community.”

Israel’s response has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians, according to health officials.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada of being on the “wrong side of history” and siding with Hamas after they all called for an end to Israel’s military operation in Gaza and restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid.

“When mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you’re on the wrong side of justice, you’re on the wrong side of humanity and you’re on the wrong side of history,” he said in remarks on Friday, name-checking Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer and Mark Carney.

“Now, these leaders may think that they’re advancing peace, they’re not. They’re emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever and they give them hope to establish a second Palestinian state from which Hamas will again seek to destroy the Jewish state – and mind you, it’s not going to be a state free of Hamas.”

Earlier this week, the three leaders issued a joint statement condemning what they called Israel’s “egregious” military actions in Gaza and warning that they would take “concrete actions” if Netanyahu didn’t change course, particularly regarding humanitarian aid.

Displaced Palestinians walk along a makeshift tent camp at the shore of Gaza City, 22 May, 2025 (Displaced Palestinians walk along a makeshift tent camp at the shore of Gaza City, 22 May, 2025)

In his television address, Netanyahu also said the killing of two of his country’s embassy staff in Washington was a “horrific” act of antisemitic violence.

Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and 26-year-old Sarah Milgrim were shot dead at an event hosted by the city’s Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night local time.

Elias Rodriguez shouted “Free, free Palestine” as police took him away, and Netanyahu drew a direct line between the shooting and the Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, which started the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

France, the UK and Canada, all close allies of Israel, condemned the killings in Washington, as they did after Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack.

Faltering relations

Government ministers in all three countries have been quick to defend their leaders. Christophe Lemoine, spokesperson for the French foreign ministry, told local radio that “Israel has to let aid in; access has to be massive and free,” while criticising the military escalation.

And the UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard rejected Netanyahu’s criticism of Starmer, saying, “We stand in support of Israel’s right to self-defence as long as they conduct that within international humanitarian law.”

Relations between Israel and the UK plunged to their lowest level in decades earlier this week after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced he was suspending free trade negotiations with Israel, calling cabinet ministers’ calls there to “purify Gaza” repellent.

People light candles at a memorial for Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the White House in Washington, 22 May, 2025 (People light candles at a memorial for Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim outside the White House in Washington, 22 May, 2025)

This also isn’t the first time Macron has received a sharp rebuke from Israel’s prime minister.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu said that Macron had “once again chose to stand” with Hamas after the French president said Europe should consider sanctioning Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands are thought to be now facing starvation.

After an almost three-month blockade on all aid entering the Strip, dozens of trucks were allowed to enter Gaza again earlier this week, but the UN said that the amount entering was a “drop in the ocean” compared to what was needed.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched a renewed offensive in Gaza, codenamed Operation Gideon’s Chariots, last Friday.

The major ground offensive in northern and southern Gaza is backed by the Israeli air force and aims to expand “operational control” over the Strip and free the remaining hostages still being held by Hamas.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu has launched an astonishing attack on the leaders of France, Britain and Canada, accusing them of emboldening Hamas following their condemnation of Israel’s recent expansion of its offensive in Gaza.

“They want Israel to stand down and accept that Hamas’s army of mass murderers will survive, rebuild and repeat the October 7 massacre,” Netanyahu said in a video.

He raged that the leaders “may think that they’re advancing peace. They’re not. They’re emboldening Hamas to continue fighting forever.”

Netanyahu added:

I say to President Macron, Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Starmer: When mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you – you’re on the wrong side of justice, you’re on the wrong side of history and you’re on the wrong side of humanity.

It follows a joint statement that saw the trio on Monday condemn Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza and warned of joint action if it did not halt a heightened military offensive in the Palestinian territory.

Starmer, Macron and Carney slammed Israel’s blocking of aid and comments by ministers in Netanyahu’s government who have threatened the mass displacement of Palestinians.

“We will not stand by while the Netanyahu government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response,” the leaders said.

They did not say what action could be taken but added that they are “committed to recognising a Palestinian state” as a way of achieving a two-state solution.

In tonight’s video, referencing Hamas militants, Netanyahu claimed that the leaders’ promise to establish a Palestinian state would be to “reward these murderers with the ultimate prize”.

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The Israeli prime minister referenced last night’s shooting dead of two Israeli embassy staff in Washington in the US, telling viewers that the reported chanting by the attacker of “Free Palestine” was also said by militants who attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.

He further claimed that the chant was “today’s version of ‘Heil Hitler’” in the video as he attacked the pressure being placed on Israel over its onslaught on Gaza.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said this morning that there was “a direct line connecting antisemitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder” of the two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington.

“This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organisations, especially from Europe,” he said.

Leaders across Europe have condemned the murders today.

This week, EU foreign ministers voted to review the trade agreement between the bloc and Israel. The push for that review has been led by Ireland and Spain.

Also this week, a joint demand was made by 22 countries for Israel to immediately “allow a full resumption of aid into Gaza”, noting that the territory’s population “faces starvation”.

With reporting by AFP and David Mac Redmond

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