Britain's Prince William has called for an increase in humanitarian support to Gaza. Photo / AP
Britain's Prince William has called for an increase in humanitarian support to Gaza. Photo / AP
The Prince of Wales has called for an end to the fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages as he warned “too many have been killed” in Israel’s conflict.
In his strongest intervention yet on the crisis, he said: “I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7. Too many have been killed.
“I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible.
“There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in and the hostages are released.
“Sometimes it is only when faced with the sheer scale of human suffering that the importance of permanent peace is brought home.
“Even in the darkest hour, we must not succumb to the counsel of despair. I continue to cling to the hope that a brighter future can be found and I refuse to give up on that.”
Prince William listens to Pascal Hundt, senior crisis manager, International Committee of the Red Cross, dialling in from Gaza during a visit to the British Red Cross at its headquarters in London. Photo / AP
Nigel Farage led criticism of the prince for intervening in the crisis. The former Brexit Party leader wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “I’m not sure that our future King should be doing this. He should stick to the Baftas.”
The prince, Bafta president since 2010, attended the annual award ceremony on Sunday evening.
Meanwhile, Andrew Percy, the Tory MP and vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-Semitism, also criticised the prince for his intervention.
“The underlying principle of our constitutional monarchy is that members of the royal family do not engage in contentious political issues of the day on which there are divergent and strongly held beliefs in this country,” he said.
“Members of the royal family would do well to remember that.”
However, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said the government welcomed the prince’s intervention.
Asked whether Rishi Sunak agreed with the prince’s assessment of the Israel-Hamas war, the spokesman said: “Yes, his comments echo those that you have heard previously from the Prime Minister as well.
“The Prime Minister has said before on a number of occasions that too many civilians have lost their lives — I think Mansion House is an example where he made that point.
“And we want to see an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible, so it is consistent with the government position and we welcome that intervention.
“It is important that we speak [with] one voice as a nation.”
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) February 20, 2024
Global statesman
The statement was released as the prince met British Red Cross aid workers involved in the humanitarian effort and spoke to their colleagues working on the ground in the region, admitting the violence had left him “deeply moved as a father”.
His comments come five years after he called for “lasting peace for the region”, telling Palestinians during an official visit to the West Bank in 2018: “My message tonight is that you have not been forgotten.”
The prince, who is increasingly positioning himself as a global statesman, has closely followed developments in Israel and Gaza since the Hamas terror attacks in Israel on October 7.
At the time, the Prince and Princess of Wales said they were “profoundly distressed” by the “horrors inflicted by Hamas’s terrorist attack”, warning there would be further pain as Israel exercised “its right of self-defence”.
Prince William with British Red Cross workers at their headquarters in London. Photo / AP
But it was the extent of the human suffering on display that prompted the prince to go further.
It is unknown whether he briefed his father, the King, about his statement in advance, but they met at Sandringham last weekend. The King, 75, who is president of the British Red Cross, has previously condemned the October 7 attacks on Israel as “barbaric acts of terrorism”.
Next week, the prince will join a synagogue discussion with young advocates against hatred and anti-Semitism after expressing a personal wish to use his platform to highlight the plight of millions of innocent civilians on both sides.
The government was briefed, via the Foreign Office, on both the statement and the prince’s two engagements.
Understanding how the @BritishRedCross is providing vital humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict in the Middle East. Staff and volunteers continue to work day and night to bring life-saving assistance and medical treatment to those who need it most. pic.twitter.com/7OjEQF7zeF
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) February 20, 2024
The visits coincide with increased political manoeuvring over the conflict as MPs prepare to vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday on whether to back calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Sir Keir Starmer has called for an immediate end to the fighting.
Meanwhile, on Monday night, the US said Israel’s planned invasion of Rafah “should not proceed under current circumstances” as it sought to use the UN to halt fighting.
However, the timing is understood to be coincidental with the prince’s engagements scheduled for earlier this year, when he was due to be joined by his wife, the Princess of Wales, before she was admitted to hospital for abdominal surgery.
William spent about an hour chatting to British Red Cross workers, whose teams have been providing first aid, ambulances, and medical support.
He was briefed on the latest situation on the ground in Gaza and Israel by the charity’s chief executive, Beatrice Butsana-Sita, and board chairwoman Liz Padmore.
The prince also spoke via video link to colleagues from both the Palestine Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross working in the region before meeting members of the charity’s psycho-social team, which provides mental health support to those enduring trauma and suffering.
As he left, protesters on the street outside shouted: “Free, free Palestine.”
Butsana-Sita said afterwards: “The royal family has shown enduring support for our work both here in the UK and around the world.
“We are extremely grateful for the opportunity to speak to His Royal Highness about the humanitarian crisis in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the response of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement.
“Four months after hostilities escalated, it is civilians who pay the price as the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. In all communities, families are grieving those killed and treating the injured, yearning to be reunited with loved ones held captive, while those who have fled their homes desperately seek refuge.”
The first member of the royal family to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories, he played football with young people in Ramallah on the West Bank before visiting the Jalazone refugee camp a few miles away.
The prince used the historic trip to hold separate talks with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, later insisting that hopes for peace and security were not “extravagant aspirations”.
He called for “lasting peace for the region” and told Palestinians: “My message tonight is that you have not been forgotten.”
