Sadiq Khans office hits back against Israeli embassy attack over Eid message

The Israeli embassy in the UK has launched an unexpected attack on the mayor of London over his annual Eid al-Fitr message, accusing him of "spouting Hamas propaganda" in a lengthy statement on Thursday.

Sadiq Khan's office responded that he has "repeatedly" condemned Hamas. 

Khan marked Eid al-Fitr on 30 March by posting a video online expressing his "warmest wishes" to everyone celebrating the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

He acknowledged that "for many, the usual happiness we feel during Eid will be tempered by the appalling suffering and killing that continues in Sudan and Palestine."

Khan added: "More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as a result of Israel’s ongoing military campaign, including more than 15,000 children. While in Sudan, tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced by a devastating war now entering its third year. 

New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch

Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters

"These betrayals of humanity should weigh heavily on our collective conscience. But I’m proud that while the international community has chosen to avert its gaze, Londoners have not."

Days later, the Israeli embassy intervened to express that it was "deeply dismayed" by the mayor's Eid message.

The Israeli ambassador, Tzipi Hotovely, is known as a hard-liner who has for years opposed the possibility of a Palestinian state.

Belated intervention

In an attack on Khan, the Israeli embassy said: "The war is a result of the brutal and horrific attack by Hamas, a proscribed terror organisation in the UK, which was imposed on Israel on 7th October 2023.

"It is alarming that throughout the message, there is no mention of Hamas or any condemnation of terrorism and a call for the release of 59 hostages that are being held in horrific and inhumane conditions."

The embassy's statement followed widespread attacks on Khan and his Eid message by right-wing and pro-Israeli social media accounts on X.

A spokesperson for the mayor's office said on Thursday afternoon: "The mayor has repeatedly conveyed his outrage at attacks by Hamas on Israel and has strongly condemned these acts of terrorism.

"He is deeply saddened by the loss of all lives and continues to support calls for a permanent ceasefire."

The Israeli embassy claimed that Khan's figures on Palestinian casualties came from "Hamas propaganda" and were "not based on facts".

Yet the United Nations has said that the Palestinian health ministry, the apparent source of the death toll Khan cited, is "reliable".

Over a year ago, in February 2024, David Lammy, now Britain's foreign secretary, appeared to refer to the same source when he said that "over 28,000 people have lost their lives, women and children", calling the death toll abominable. 

The UN's Human Rights Office said in November 2024 that close to 70 percent of verified people killed in Gaza by the Israeli army were women and children.

In January, The Lancet medical journal published a study suggesting the death toll could be 40 percent higher than the official figures reported by the Palestinian health ministry.

middleeasteye.net