Foreign secretary David Lammy urged Israel Katz to withdraw his comments.
LONDON — Britain’s top diplomat on Thursday condemned Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz after he threatened the “total devastation” of Gaza.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary David Lammy was asked to respond to Katz’s post on X Wednesday, which came amid fresh Israeli bombing of Gaza following the collapse of a ceasefire with Hamas.
“What follows will be far more severe — you will pay the full price,” Katz wrote. “Return the hostages and remove Hamas — the alternative is total devastation.”
Lammy said: “I do condemn those words, and I would ask Minister Katz, who is very experienced, to withdraw them.”
The pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas broke down Tuesday as Israel launched a fresh bombardment across the Gaza Strip. The foreign secretary urged both sides to return to the negotiating table and lamented: “In January I called the ceasefire deal a glimmer of light in the darkness. It feels like the darkness has returned.”
Lammy — who was earlier this week rebuked by No.10 Downing Street after he accused Israel of breaking international law — confirmed that a British national was among those wounded when a U.N. compound in Gaza was hit Wednesday. He called for a “transparent investigation and for those responsible to be held to account.”