Today we mourn the victims of 7 October, denouncing the heinous, criminal atrocities carried out by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed, and 251 people were taken hostage.
This harrowing anniversary also marks two years since the start of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza. We mourn the killing of more than 67,000 Palestinians and deplore the decimation of life in Gaza.
We warned in 2023 that the crimes of Hamas could not justify an illegal and disproportionate Israeli response: one war crime does not, and can never, justify another. The world has since watched in horror as Israel’s violent assault on Gaza has escalated, and as the US, UK and other countries have continued to fuel the siege with weapons, surveillance assistance and diplomatic impunity. This support now risks complicity in what has been credibly determined to be a genocide by experts at the UN, by leading genocide scholars and by human rights organisations.
As the world reflects on the grief, loss and devastation, we recall the words of the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written shortly after the horrors of the Second World War:
that “recognition of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world…”
that “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind…”
that “the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.”
Two years after the horrors of 7 October, Israeli hostages continue to be held by Hamas, Israel continues its genocidal bombardment of Gaza, Palestinians remain arbitrarily detained in Israeli jails and violent settlement expansion in the West Bank continues unchecked. For two years, innocent civilians have continued to pay the highest price.
As negotiators meet in Egypt, we implore all parties to seek a permanent ceasefire - the bloodshed must end, humanitarian access must be restored and families torn apart must be reunited.
