Politics
‘Scale of destruction in Gaza is unimaginable’, Starmer tells MPs
The Prime Minister urged ‘all sides’ to adhere to Donald Trump’s peace plan
October 29, 2025 14:28
The Prime Minister urged ‘all sides’ to adhere to Donald Trump’s peace plan
October 29, 2025 14:28The scale of destruction in Gaza is “unimaginable”, Sir Keir Starmer has told MPs as he urged “all sides” to stick to US President Trump’s “fragile” peace deal.
During Prime Minister’s Questions today, Starmer was asked by Manchester Withington MP Jeff Smith about the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza last night, which, he said, killed “dozens of innocent people”.
The IDF has said it was responding to Hamas' "clear violation" of the ceasefire agreement, including attacks on Israeli soldiers and failing to release the bodies of the remaining 13 hostages that the terror organisation still holds, but this morning confirmed the resumption of the ceasefire.
“What will the UK do, along with our international partners, to hold the Netanyahu government to account for its actions, and what more can we do to ensure that aid gets in as the IDF blocks aid in breach of both the peace agreement and international law?”, Smith asked the Prime Minister today.
Starmer responded that he was “deeply concerned” by the Israeli strikes which, he said, demonstrated “the fragility of the ceasefire deal”.
“All sides need to uphold President Trump's peace plan. It is the only route to long term peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” he told MPs.
"We are, of course, in close touch with the US and regional allies pushing for de-escalation”, he added.
Responding to the question about aid, Starmer said that “scale of destruction in Gaza is unimaginable” and that the Government’s “immediate priority remains getting aid in at the speed and the volume needed.”
Earlier in the session, during his exchange with opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, the Prime Minister refused to rule out increases in income tax, national insurance and VAT.
Pointing to Chancellor Rachel Reeves forthcoming Budget announcement, which will take place on November 26, Starmer said his Government would “lay out our plans” then.
"But,” he added, “I can tell the House now that we will build a stronger economy. We will cut NHS waiting lists and deliver a better future for our country.”
The Conservative Party leader hit back that she had received a different answer on to when she asked exactly the same question – word for word – on July 9.
“Then the Prime Minister replied with just one word, ‘Yes’, and then he sat down with a smug grin on his face. What's changed in the past four months?”, she asked.
Starmer retorted that the Conservatives did “even more damage to the economy than we previously thought", during their time in government.
He said: “We will turn that around. We’ve already delivered the fastest growth in the G7 in the first half of this year. Five interest rate cuts in a row, trade deals with the US, EU and India.
“They broke the economy. We’re fixing it.”
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