UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said he strongly condemned Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, but that what happened in Gaza afterward could not be justified in any way. Miliband’s assessment addressed condemnation of Hamas’ attack and criticism of the civilian deaths and humanitarian destruction in Gaza within the same framework.
Miliband said approximately 1,200 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza since the period described as a ceasefire. The figure was presented as a number cited in Miliband’s statement, rather than as a toll independently verified through a separate dataset.
Miliband says the crisis in Gaza is continuing
In a record dated September 8, 2026, from the UK Parliament, Miliband also said that the crisis in Gaza was continuing and that more than 1,200 Palestinians had been killed approximately one year after the ceasefire was declared. Miliband said the humanitarian situation had worsened because of decisions by the Israeli government, arguing that the crisis could not be viewed solely as the result of past conflicts.
This approach shows that Miliband is highlighting two central elements of his Gaza policy together. On the one hand, Hamas’ attack and hostage-taking on October 7, 2023, are condemned; on the other, the civilian deaths and humanitarian destruction in Gaza are described as unacceptable.
From the October 7 attack to the ceasefire period
Approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken hostage in the Hamas-led attack in Israel on October 7, 2023. While the attack is described as the starting point of the war that began in Gaza, civilian deaths and the need for humanitarian aid in the region subsequently became central to international debates.
The UK’s stated position has jointly emphasized the unconditional release of the hostages held by Hamas, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the establishment of a sustainable ceasefire. Parliamentary debates in 2024 also condemned Hamas’ attacks and the taking of hostages, while calling for an end to civilian deaths in Gaza and guaranteed access for aid.
Although the ceasefire arrangement said to have taken effect in October 2025 was intended to end the fighting in Gaza, Miliband’s statement said that Palestinians continued to be killed after the ceasefire. This assessment keeps alive the debate over whether the ceasefire has ensured a complete and lasting cessation of hostilities on the ground.
The UK’s political framework
Miliband argues that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza must end, accountability mechanisms must be activated and the parties must move toward a lasting peace process. The UK government’s position is likewise based on pursuing condemnation of the Hamas attack, the release of the hostages, the delivery of humanitarian aid and calls for a sustainable ceasefire together.
For this reason, the statement highlights a distinction in the UK’s Gaza policy that does not treat the October 7 attack and civilian deaths in Gaza as justification for one another. Miliband’s remarks indicate that, because of the deaths cited after the ceasefire and the continuing humanitarian problems, the situation in Gaza is not regarded as a closed matter by the British government.
