Lord Pannick (CB)

My Lords, we all lament the tragedy of Gaza, the deaths, the devastation and, in particular, as this Motion reminds us, the damage to the healthcare system, but much of that tragedy is the inevitable consequence of a war, a war which Hamas was responsible for starting. It is a war that Hamas has continued, by threatening to repeat 7 October if it could do so, and by detaining Israeli and foreign hostages in conditions of unspeakable cruelty for 468 days and counting. We all hope that the agreement announced in the last couple of days will end that detention very soon and resolve the situation. Hamas bears a particular responsibility for the damage to the healthcare system of Gaza. It is the consequence of Hamas’s policy of using civilian structures such as hospitals as bases for its weapons and its soldiers. I say very politely to my friend, the noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy, that I find it quite extraordinary that she can speak, eloquently, on this subject for eight or nine minutes and make only one brief, indirect reference to Hamas. I say to her and to the House that the best way “to support the healthcare system in Gaza”, which is the subject of this debate, is for this country and all civilised countries to do all that we can to ensure that Hamas is deprived of power and deprived of weapons. That is in the interest not only of Israel and the world but of the people of Gaza.