Reports from Gaza are becoming ever more harrowing. Yesterday we reported that the number of Palestinians killed in the Israel-Hamas had surpassed 10,000, a truly shocking figure.

The pressure for a ceasefire is mounting, as evidenced today by the resignation of a Labour frontbencher over Sir Keir Starmer’s stance on the issue.

Read our report here 👈

Today, one of our readers pens a forceful lament over the continuing suffering.

Eric Melvin of Edinburgh writes:

"The reports from Gaza that the numbers killed by the Israeli military now exceed 10, 000 are truly shocking. It is utterly shameful that we have world leaders, including the UK Prime Minister, continuing to give an emboldened Israel support for this slaughter on the grounds that the country is entitled to defend itself.

"The Hamas attacks on Israel and the murder and kidnapping of its citizens are rightly condemned. However, the destruction of Gaza and the killing of so many unprotected innocent men, women and children on such a scale can never be justified. The deliberate cutting off by the Israelis of the essentials of life for the Palestinians, now virtually imprisoned in what is a vast internment camp, must surely constitute a war crime. And what does the future hold for them? Benjamin Netanyahu’s most recent pronouncement would suggest that Gaza is to be occupied. Will a vengeful Israel rebuild their shattered homes and restore the broken infrastructure? Or will they become like so many thousands of other Palestinians, prisoners in their own land?

"The UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres was quite right to point to the long history of persecution experienced by the Palestinians. Despite the unanimous approval of the UN to the 1967 Resolution 242 supporting amongst other measures the establishment of a Palestinian state, this has been regularly flouted by Israeli governments, particularly those led by Mr Netanyahu. Under successive Israeli premierships 279 Israeli settlements, housing 229,000 Israeli settlers, have been built across the occupied West Bank, 147 of which are illegal even under Israeli law.

"People across the world are rightly horrified at the suffering in Gaza yet here in the UK the thousands of people who have taken to the streets to protest against the collective punishment being inflicted by Israel, are being attacked by the Home Secretary. Suella Braverman has condemned the rallies as “hate marches” ("Explained: The row over pro-Palestinian protests on Armistice Day", heraldscotland, November 6) and linked them to anti-Semitism - a false argument used of course by Mr Netanyahu. It seems that any criticism of Israel can be dismissed in such a fashion.

"If Mr Netanyhu had studied even recent history, he would have learned that an insurrection cannot be beaten by military force on its own. Just ask the Americans. While Gaza might be reduced to the largest bomb site in the world, he is deluded in thinking that Hamas can be wiped out under the rubble. Tragically Israel’s aggression will only serve to recruit the next generation of Palestinians who perceive that the only future for them lies in the destruction of the state of Israel. Furthermore, as well as threatening to destabilise the entire Middle East, Mr Netanyahu is making life difficult for the millions of decent Jewish people living peacefully in countries across the world.

"Until Israel returns to the pledges of the 1993 and 1995 Oslo Peace Process brokered by President Clinton and accepted by Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Rabin of Israel, then the future looks very bleak indeed. As the UK learned in Kenya, Cyprus and of course Northern Ireland, at some point you have to sit down to negotiate even with those you have demonised as terrorists.”

📨 Read more in our Letters page
Letters should not exceed 500 words. We reserve the right to edit submissions.

Subscribe 👈