We must immediately pursue ceasefire in Gaza - Angus Robertson

One hundred days have passed since the unimaginable events of October 7 when members of the Islamist terrorist group Hamas invaded Israel, killing nearly 1300 people and taking 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers hostage. It is the biggest single loss of jewish lives since the Nazi holocaust.

An RAF Typhoon aircraft returns to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after joining the US-led coalition conducting air strikes against military targets in Yemen

The brutality of the tactics – the killing, rape, mutilation and torture – of Israelis during the attacks cannot be overstated. It is unquestionable that Israel has a right to respond. This is not, however, permission to raze a territory and people to the ground. Around 24,000 Palestinians have now been killed. With a population that is 50 per cent children, this figure is particularly hard-hitting.

Out of 1.4 million Palestinian refugees, over one million are now reliant on UN assistance for food, shelter and medical assistance. But basic flows of food, water and medicine have ceased. Despite daily bombing, risk of death by disease now outstrips death by military force. Children harmed by bombs are having limbs removed without anaesthetic and proper sanitation, as are women who require caesarean sections.

Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, who have been attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea in response to Israel’s invasion of Gaza, have now been bombed by the USA, UK and others. The risk of further escalation and emboldening Houthi extremists is significant, according to former UK Ambassador to Yemen, Frances Guy. We cannot let this situation spiral further out of control. It is right that the House of Commons scrutinises the Prime Minister’s unilateral decision to bomb Yemen, and we must immediately pursue a ceasefire in Gaza.