The remarks come after a British national was wounded in an Israeli strike on a UN compound in Gaza
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has condemned Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz for threatening Palestinians in Gaza with “total devastation” in remarks widely seen as inciting genocide.
Katz said in a video message aimed towards residents of Gaza on Wednesday: “The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza, and the second Sinwar will bring its complete ruin.
“Soon, the evacuation of the population from combat zones will resume, and what follows will be far more severe – you will pay the full price.
“Return the hostages and remove Hamas – the alternative is total devastation.”
Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza starting on 18 March have killed more than 500 people and injured over 900.
The majority of the victims have been women and children, Lammy noted in parliament on Thursday.
He also announced that a British national was wounded in an Israeli attack on a UN compound.
“Yesterday morning, a UN compound in Gaza was hit,” he said. “I can confirm to the House that a British national was amongst the wounded. Our priority is supporting them and their family at this time.”
Labour MP Stella Creasy said in parliament on Thursday afternoon: “Israel Katz, the defence minister, claimed that the evacuation of Gaza would resume, and is threatening their total devastation. These are not the actions of a government that wants peace.”
She added: “This is not what the hostage families want to see, and we should speak for them as much for the innocent civilians in Gaza, the Palestinians whose lives are being lost.”
Creasy asked the foreign secretary to be “clear, for avoidance of doubt, that we do not agree, that we condemn the words of Israel Katz, as they are not going to bring forward the ceasefire. They are not going to uphold international law if they are left unchallenged.”
Lammy responded: “I do condemn those words, and I would ask minister Katz who’s very experienced to withdraw them.”
This marks the first time a British minister has condemned a senior Israeli minister for genocidal comments about Gaza since the war began in 2023.
Lammy further condemned an X post by recently reappointed Israeli cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday which said: “Annihilate, smash, eradicate, erase, crush, shatter, burn, be cruel, punish, ruin, crush. Annihilate!”
Scottish National Party MP Chris Law read out the now-deleted post, describing it as “genocidal”.
Lammy said “If those are the words that were used last night, and I haven’t seen them all, then I condemn them categorically from this dispatch box.”
This comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly overruled the foreign secretary on Tuesday after Lammy accused Israel of violating international law with its blockade of Gaza.
Lammy has since rowed back his remarks.
He said on Thursday that “it’s difficult to see how denying humanitarian assistance to a civilian population can be compatible with international humanitarian law”.
But he added: “Our position remains that Israel’s actions in Gaza are a clear risk of breaching of breaching international humanitarian law,” falling short of accusing Israel of having broken international law.