Israel-Palestine: Labour's Emma Reynolds comments crisis

Emma Reynolds, Labour’s MP hopeful for the Wycombe seat commented on the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has killed and injured thousands of civilians in the area.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7 according to reports by the Gaza Ministry of Health, the United Nations said. Israeli officials have told the UN around 1,400 people have been killed in Israel.

Emma Reynolds said her “deepest sympathy is with the families whose loved ones have been lost, whether they are Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish or Muslim.”

Palestinians inspecting damage to a building after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City (Image: Abed Khaled/AP)

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She said in a statement: “There is absolutely no justification for the terrorism, killing and violence that Hamas has inflicted on innocent Israelis. But we must also distinguish between the innocent Palestinian people of Gaza and the terrorists of Hamas. All responses must be proportionate and within international law.

“The level of suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza is horrific. As the Labour Party has stressed, there must be humanitarian corridors. International law requires the protection of civilians and access to food, water and electricity. The international community needs humanitarian corridors in Gaza to deliver aid.”

The MP candidate said she recently met with leaders of the Muslim community in High Wycombe before conveying their concerns to Keir Starmer, the leader of Labour.

“In particular, there are concerns that the response of the Israeli government to Hamas's terrorist attacks has not been proportionate and that there needs to be a clearer definition of what is and is not proportionate, and that many innocent Palestinian civilians are being killed and suffering from the terrible humanitarian conditions in Gaza,” she added.