UK's Starmer urges Middle East 'restraint' on Oct 7 anniversary

A child is drapped in an Israeli flag as people light candles after a ceremony of commemoration for the victims of the October 7 Hamas attack at a Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary on October 7, 2024. [AFP]

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday urged "all sides" in the Middle East conflict to "find the courage of restraint", on the first anniversary of Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

Addressing lawmakers in parliament, the UK leader said the region "cannot endure another year of this" and that "civilians on all sides have suffered too much".

"All sides must now step back from the brink and find the courage of restraint. There is no military solution to these challenges," Starmer told MPs in a sombre House of Commons.

His comments followed a statement earlier Monday in which he paid tribute to the victims of those killed a year ago, saying: "We stand together to remember the lives so cruelly taken."

Starmer, who took power in early July, added that Britain "must unequivocally stand with the Jewish community and unite as a country", following a surge in reports of anti-Semitism across the UK.

"On this day of pain and sorrow, we honour those we lost, and continue in our determination to return those still held hostage, help those who are suffering, and secure a better future for the Middle East," he said.

In his brief speech in parliament, Starmer said 15 British citizens were killed on October 7 in the attacks, and that another died while being held in captivity.

The Hamas onslaught left 1,205 dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on the latest official Israeli figures.

Some 251 people were captured and taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip. Of those 97 are still held captive including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Starmer also noted that more than 41,000 Palestinians had also been killed in Israel's military response, reiterating his calls for immediate ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza, and more aid to be allowed into the latter.

Again urging British citizens in Lebanon to leave, the UK leader noted 430 people had already left the country on government-chartered flights over the last week.