Anyone celebrating the events in Israel should be ashamed (Suella Braverman urges police to crack down on Hamas support in UK, 8 October). There is a big difference between supporting the Palestinian people and celebrating the deaths of Israeli children and elderly people. If they genuinely care for the Palestinian people, they surely must realise that what happened at the weekend was not a victory for the people of Gaza. In two weeks from now, one can only imagine what state Gaza will be in, with the Israel Defence Forces likely to have been sent into the territory, as well as all electricity and power having been shut off, and goods blocked from entering it via Israel.
The possibility of this conflict extending beyond Israel’s borders remains, and the stakes are so high that unimaginable destruction could occur. Regional conflicts of such a nature could draw in actors from outside the region. Those who are partying about what has happened may find their celebrations very premature, as events unfold with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Syd Kaminsky
Whitefield, Greater Manchester
• I am Jewish, and when I was young I worked in Israel on a kibbutz and in the ministry of foreign affairs in Jerusalem. That was in 1966 and 1967, and Israel was a much kinder place then. I have family in Israel who are dear to me, but I have to say this: if Israel is cutting off Gaza from water, food, electricity and gas, how does it expect Hamas to take care of the hostages that it has taken? How are the hostages going to fare without food, or fuel or water?
And how is this policy going to sit with the ordinary people who live in Gaza and may not support what Hamas is doing because of the terrible backlash it brings. How fair is this to the children who live in Gaza who haven’t asked to be part of this?
I have great difficulty understanding the minds of those who govern Israel.
Angela Singer
Cambridge
• The weekend’s events have been described as Israel’s 9/11. It is essential, then, that we remember the lessons of the rush to war in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks.
Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak’s pledges to provide military support to Israel are inflammatory and shortsighted at a time when countries should be doing all they can to push for peace.
John Newsham
Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
