Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sharply criticised UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, accusing them of empowering Hamas through their recent joint condemnation of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
In a fiery video statement released after Thursday’s fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, Netanyahu accused the three leaders of effectively calling for Hamas to remain in power.
“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,” Netanyahu said.
The attack in Washington, in which embassy workers Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were killed, was condemned by all three leaders. The suspect, Elias Rodriguez, reportedly shouted “Free Palestine” during his arrest, according to police.
Starmer, Macron, and Carney had days earlier issued a strongly worded statement labelling Israel’s latest military escalation “disproportionate” and the humanitarian conditions in Gaza “intolerable”.
It marked the strongest collective rebuke of Israel’s conduct since the conflict escalated 19 months ago.
Aid concerns and diplomatic backlash
Sir Keir Starmer has also criticised Israel’s limited aid access to Gaza, calling it “utterly inadequate” and announcing a suspension of trade talks between the UK and Israel.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu defended Israel’s war conduct, claiming that Hamas is committed to destroying the Jewish state and that the Palestinian group welcomed the Western criticism.
French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine reiterated Paris’s position that Israel must allow massive, unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza. “Access has to be massive and free,” he told FranceInfo radio.
More than 90 aid lorries were permitted to enter Gaza on Thursday, but the UN described that number as far below the needs of Palestinians enduring dire conditions following an 11-week total blockade.
The renewed airstrikes in March have killed 3,613 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Despite Netanyahu’s broadside, UK armed forces minister Luke Pollard defended Starmer’s position, reaffirming Britain’s support for Israel’s right to self-defence — but within international humanitarian law.
