At least six Brits have been killed in Hamas 'pogrom' and 10 more missing, Rishi Sunak tells MPs as he vows to 'stand by' Israel despite fears of 'regional escalation'

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Rishi Sunak condemned the Hamas 'Pogrom' today as he said six Brits are confirmed dead and 10 more missing.

The PM insisted Britain will 'stand by' Israel as he insisted the country had the right to respond - although he stressed the need to avoid 'broader regional instability' and take 'every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians'.

Updating MPs after the Commons returned for the first time since the bloody attacks, Mr Sunak addressed Jewish community members in the gallery, saying: 'We stand with you, we stand with Israel.' 

'The attacks in Israel last weekend shocked the world. Over 1,400 people murdered one by one, over 3,500 wounded, almost 200 taken hostage,' Mr Sunak said.

He went on: 'We should call it by its name: it was a Pogrom.

'The families of some of the missing are in the public gallery today. We call for the immediate release of all hostages and I say to them: we stand with you. We stand with Israel.'

Mr Sunak said the 'terrible nature of these attacks means it is proving difficult to identify many of the deceased'.

'But with a heavy heart I can inform the House that at least six British citizens were killed,' he said.

'A further 10 are missing, some of whom are feared to be among the dead.'

The government's stance was backed by Labour leader Keir Starmer, who said that Parliament must speak with 'one voice'. 

However, some of his MPs were more critical. Richard Burgon said Palestinians are being subjected to 'collective punishment', while Afzal Khan warned they were being 'dehumanised'. 

Earlier the premier urged counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to stay focused on rooting out Hamas amid a diplomatic scramble to prevent a full-scale meltdown in the Middle East.

Updating MPs after the Commons returned for the first time since the bloody attacks, Mr Sunak addressed Jewish community leaders in the gallery, saying: 'We stand with you, we stand with Israel.'

Rishi Sunak will address MPs on Monday about the escalating crisis in Israel and Gaza, as politicians return to Westminster amid renewed conflict in the Middle East

Mr Sunak wrote a condolences note during his visit to a school in north London this morning  

Israeli troops patrol in armoured personnel carriers in northern Israel on October 15, close to the country's border with Lebanon, amid skirmishes with Lebanon

Mr Sunak underlined his ongoing belief that a two-state solution was the way forward for peace, and made clear the Palestinian people were not the same as Hamas. 

In a message to Israel, he said: 'We stand with you now and always. This atrocity was an existential strike at the very idea of Israel as a safe homeland for the Jewish people.

'I understand why it has shaken you to your core, and I am sickened that antisemitic incidents have increased since the attack.

'We are doing everything we can to protect you.'

Vowing to use 'all the tools of British diplomacy', Mr Sunak said: 'However hard it is, we need to ask the tough questions about how we can revive the long-term prospect for a two-state solution, for normalisation and regional stability, not least because that is precisely what Hamas has been trying to kill.'

Sir Keir said it is 'crucial that this House speaks with one voice in condemnation of terror, in support for Israel in its time of agony and for the dignity of all human life'.

He warned that Hamas does not 'wish to see peace in the Middle East', adding: 'But Hamas are not the Palestinian people and the Palestinian people are not Hamas.

'So Labour stands with Israel, Britain stands with Israel. The attack is ongoing, terrorists are at large, hostages are still being held, some of them British citizens.

'Israel has the right to bring her people home, to defend herself, to keep its people safe.

'And whilst Hamas has the capability to carry out attacks on Israeli territory, there can be no safety.'

Labour frontbencher Afzal Khan raised the case of a six-year-old muslim boy he said had been murdered in Chicago as a 'response' to the Israel violence

The government's stance was backed by Labour leader Keir Starmer , who said that Parliament must speak with 'one voice'

However, tensions came to the surface later in the debate. Mr Burgon insisted the 'massacre of Israeli citizens was a heinous act of terrorism which we all utterly condemn, and the hostages must be released immediately'.

He added: 'In the words of the United Nations general secretary, ''the horrific acts by Hamas do not justify responding with collective punishment of the Palestinian people''.

'But that is what we're seeing in Gaza – civilian areas bombed, food, electricity, water, medicines, all cut off. Such collective punishment is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

'So will the Prime Minister take this opportunity to make clear to the Israeli government that this collective punishment of Palestinian civilians must end immediately?'

Other MPs could be heard saying 'shame' and 'disgraceful' as Mr Burgon spoke.

Labour frontbencher Mr Khan raised the case of a six-year-old muslim boy he said had been murdered in Chicago as a 'response' to the Israel violence.

'Will the PM review his statements about the conflict and ensure he does not add to the further vilification of Palestinians and muslims when condemning the actions of Hamas,' he said. 

Mr Sunak said he would 'not tolerate anti-Muslim hatred in any form'.  

Speaking on a visit to a Jewish school in London earlier, Mr Sunak said he had stressed to Mr Netanyahu the need to 'minimise the impact on civilians'.

He insisted that it is crucial that the response is 'contained to dealing with Hamas and does not spread more broadly in the region'. 

The UN and global aid agencies have all expressed alarm about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, after Israel imposed a blockade and ordered civilians to evacuate the north ahead of an imminent offensive.

Western diplomats are also concerned that the war between Hamas and Israel could spark a wider conflict in the Middle East.

In a round of interviews, defence minister James Heappey said the UK is encouraging Israel to balance humanitarian needs against military objectives - but suggested it was doing so 'correctly' at the moment. 

Mr Sunak said: 'Israel does have every right to defend itself and its people to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.

'I think that's what the Israeli people would expect from their government is that – if something like this happened here, it's what people would expect from this Government to make sure that they take the proportionate and necessary steps to keep everybody safe.

'Now, I've raised with the Israeli prime minister the need to minimise the impact on civilians as best we can. I've raised the humanitarian situation. We will continue to do that with other allies around the region as well.

'But again, Israel has given people advance notice of what's happening, given them the opportunity to leave and it's Hamas who is now telling people to stay behind, it's Hamas that is embedding itself inside civilian populations and that is just example of the barbarity with which they operate.

'They are not doing the right thing by the Palestinian people by those actions, and they should be held accountable for that.'

Mr Sunak said 'nobody wants to see regional escalation'.

'Israel has been very clear that Hamas is the entity that's responsible for this and what they want to do is ensure that their people are safe and that this doesn't happen again, and that the focus of the attention of self-defence is on Hamas,' he said.

'And I think that's right, nobody wants to see regional escalation. And certainly the Israeli prime minister does not, when I've spoken to him.

'That's something that we can help with. We've already sent surveillance aircraft to the eastern Mediterranean last week, they will be able to, as I said, make sure that no arm shipments, for example, have been sent to other terrorist organisations in the region.

'That's a practical step that we can take to help ensure that this remains contained to dealing with Hamas and does not spread more broadly in the region.'

Asked whether the Government supports the blockade of water, medical supplies and power from Gaza, he told LBC: 'I think what we are recognising is that there is military necessity rubbing up against humanitarian necessity and what we're saying to Israel is that they need and are, need to show the balance between those two imperatives.'

Echoing US secretary of state Antony Blinken, Mr Heappey said democracies hold themselves to a 'higher standard' and 'of course we are encouraging Israel to make sure it does hold itself to that higher standard.'

He added: 'It is the devil's own choice that Israel has got to make but for my money they are balancing correctly the need to preserve innocent human life as best they possibly can while accepting that the adversary that they will soon launch an attack on, uses humans and shields and deliberately seeks to hide within civilian population and infrastructure.'

Mr Sunak will set out how the UK is supporting Israel and aiding British nationals caught in the fighting, while also detailing ministers' response to the humanitarian situation inside Gaza. 

King Abdullah II of Jordan was welcomed to Downing Street last night, as the ruler embarked on a diplomatic tour of Europe to rally international support to stop the war.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly indicated yesterday that about 10 British people are currently being held hostage by Hamas, telling Sky News that such a figure was 'not an unreasonable estimate'.

Meanwhile, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said that increased security measures will remain in place to protect places of worship.

The mayor's office said that the Metropolitan Police have also stepped up patrols, with a rolling programme of security visits to all synagogues in the capital.

Mr Khan said: 'The suffering and loss of innocent life in both Israel and Gaza is truly heart-breaking and my thoughts are with all those impacted.

'It's vital that we don't allow events overseas to spill over onto our streets in London and I want to reassure both the Jewish community and the Muslim community that we will take a zero-tolerance approach to any Islamophobia or antisemitism.

An Israeli soldier sifts the wreckage at the Kibbutz Beeri last week, the place where 270 revellers were killed by militants during the Supernova music festival on October 7

People take part in a demonstration in support of Palestine in Birmingham on Sunday

Mr Sunak met King Abdullah II of Jordan in 10 Downing Street yesterday

'I'm continuing to work closely with the police and community leaders to ensure our communities feel safe, and are safe, as they go about their daily lives.'

Demonstrators are also expected to gather outside BBC headquarters in the capital on Monday evening, amid anger at the broadcaster's decision not to describe Hamas militants as terrorists.

It comes after a weekend of protests and gatherings across the UK, with tens of thousands marching in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Three men were charged on Sunday with criminal offences alleged to have taken place at the London demonstration, at which 15 people were arrested over the course of the day.

Meanwhile, detectives investigating a public order offence are appealing for help identifying two women who were at the demonstration in the capital.

Hundreds of people also attended at a vigil in central London on Sunday to commemorate Israeli victims of the Hamas incursion.