Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has clashed with Live Aid organiser Sir Bob Geldof over the Middle East crisis as she doubled down on her support for Israel.
The pair were the top guests on the Sky News programme Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, and were both asked about the current crisis in Gaza, where thousands of people are facing starvation. During his interview, Sir Bob accused the Israeli government of “lying” about the situation surrounding the delivery of aid to Palestinians.
On Sunday, Israel announced a “tactical pause” in its military activity to enable aid to be brought into Gaza. The UK is preparing to airdrop food into the territory.
When Sir Bob was asked about claims made by the Israeli government that there are hundreds of trucks full of aid waiting to get into Gaza that are being held up by United Nations incompetence and Hamas, he hit out at Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government.
“The Israeli authorities are lying,” he claimed. “They’re lying. Netanyahu is a liar. The IDF are lying.”
His comments enraged the Israeli government, which has denied being at fault after it was reported that more than 110 people had died of hunger during the conflict. Israel has sought to blame Hamas for “stealing aid and prolonging the war”.
Sir Bob, who is marking 40 years since his Live Aid concerts were held to raise money for people facing starvation in Ethiopia, said he felt that given his history, and his ongoing work in helping to tackle poverty, he had a right to speak out on the unfolding crisis in Gaza.
Asked about Israelis protesting against the Netanyahu government, he said: “If Israelis want to protest, get in your cars, stuff your cars full of food, drive through that border and let your own army stop you.”
Sir Bob branded Hamas “disgusting” but claimed that “we are well beyond” the attack by Hamas on Israel on 7 October 2023. He also said that calls from MPs and others for the UK to join France in recognising Palestine as a state are “a distraction that is not going to make any material difference”.
Israel’s deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel told The Independent: “Bob Geldof says that ‘we are way beyond’ the attack by Hamas on Israel on 7 October 2023. This is complete rubbish. Hamas still holds 50 hostages in their dungeons of torture. They have been held for 660 days. I don’t hear Bob Geldof calling for their release?”
She added: “This war can end when all the hostages are released and Hamas disarms. Like so many self-appointed experts in Europe, Geldof fails to call on Hamas to negotiate in good faith – so a ceasefire could be achieved – or better yet ... to lay down their weapons and release our hostages.”
The interviews with Sir Bob and Ms Badenoch took place after new polling by More in Common for The Sunday Times showed that UK voters are more likely to sympathise with Palestine than with Israel, by 29 per cent to 15 per cent.
When Sir Bob’s remarks were put to her by Sir Trevor, Ms Badenoch said he was wrong.
She said: “I disagree with that. What I’m seeing is Israel allowing humanitarian aid to go in. This has been an unbelievably difficult situation. It’s been heartbreaking seeing some of the pictures, hearing those stories, and what we all want to see is this awful war coming to an end, and that will happen when those hostages are released. We need a ceasefire.”
Sir Trevor pointed out that Ms Badenoch is one of the few political leaders to have grown up in a country at war, in reference to her childhood in Nigeria.
Ms Badenoch also dismissed the More in Common polling and the idea that her support for Israel appears to be at odds with the prevailing view among the British public. She said: “I’m somebody who believes in looking at what’s actually happening. What are the facts, and how do we make sure we’re always doing the right thing? The right thing is for there to be a ceasefire.
“A lot of people are suffering on both sides, but we mustn’t forget how this started. October 7, a massacre occurred. It was an act of war. There are still people who are being held hostage, and they need to be brought home.
“All of this could be brought to an end, except that those territories are being run by a terrorist organisation [Hamas].”
Israel has denied that it is causing famine in Gaza and insisted instead that there is “a manmade shortage engineered by Hamas”.
An Israeli security official told Sky News that “despite the false claims that are being spread, the State of Israel does not limit the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip”.
A spokesperson for the IDF added: “The IDF allows the American civilian organisation [the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation] to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities in the Gaza Strip.
“Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned. The aforementioned incidents are under review by the competent authorities in the IDF.”
Sir Keir Starmer is set to make the Gaza crisis one of the top priorities in his discussions with Donald Trump on Monday at the US president’s Turnberry golf course in Scotland.
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