Prince William calls for an end to fighting, release of hostages in Gaza
The Prince of Wales is under fire after breaking with royal protocol to weigh in on a major political issue.
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Prince William is facing backlash after he made a statement about intervention in the war in the Middle East, calling for an “end to the fighting” between Israel and Hamas.
The Prince of Wales, and next in line to the throne, released a rare statement ahead of speaking to aid workers on the ground in Gaza, amid the Israel-Hamas war.
William arrived at the British Red Cross headquarters in London to deliver a message via video link to those on the frontlines helping with the humanitarian effort.
“I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October,” the royal said.
“Too many have been killed.
“I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible.
“There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in and the hostages are released.
“Sometimes it is only when faced with the sheer scale of human suffering that the importance of permanent peace is brought home.
“Even in the darkest hour, we must not succumb to the counsel of despair.
“I continue to cling to the hope that a brighter future can be found and I refuse to give up on that.”
A statement from The Prince of Wales pic.twitter.com/LV2jMx75DC
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) February 20, 2024
But Prince William’s outspokenness has divided people across the world setting off debates about whether or not the royals should remain neutral in matter of politics, or whether they should step into humanitarian causes, even if they have been caused by geo-political crises.
Former British UKIP leader Nigel Farage questioned whether Prince William’s message was appropriate.
In a post on X, Mr Farage said: “I’m not sure that our future Kng should be doing this. He should stick to the BAFTAs.”
The timing of what is being called William’s unprecedented intervention raises questions about the involvement of the UK Foreign Office, and whether the royal statement is in fact an attempt to increase pressure on Israel to consider a ceasefire.
The Prince of Wales’s statement was a rare foray into one of the most inflammatory global situations of the last hundred years, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The statement arose as the UK government had become more critical of Israel’s plan to launch a military offensive in Rafah, where approximately 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering with nowhere else to go.
According to The Guardian, the Prince’s statement was issued with “the knowledge of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and No 10 said the UK government welcomed the intervention.”
The statement was “consistent with the government position … It is important that we speak [with] one voice as a nation.”
However, not everyone was supportive, especially Israel.
On the evening of the future king’s statement, Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy said an end to the fighting will be only possible once the 134 hostages are released and when Hamas is vanquished.
In his statement he said: “Israelis of course want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible, and that will be possible once the 134 hostages are released, and once the Hamas terror army threatening to repeat the 7 October atrocities is dismantled.
“We appreciate the Prince of Wales’ call for Hamas to free the hostages. We also recall with gratitude his statement from 11 October condemning Hamas’ terror attacks and reaffirming Israel’s right of self-defence against them.”
It comes after the royal’s visit to the Red Cross, which is is providing humanitarian aid in the region via the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, including Magen David Adom in Israel and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
William was briefed about the Red Cross’s current operations in the region and the latest situation on the ground, in particular in Gaza.
He was greeted by chair Liz Padmore, and Beatrice Butsana-Sita, British Red Cross CEO as he arrived this afternoon.
William said: “The work you do, you go from one crisis to the next.”
According to The Sun, the royal also listened to Pascal Hundt, Senior Crisis Manager, International Committee of the Red Cross, who spoke via video link from Gaza.
Catastrophic situation
The prince heard from Rory Moylan, Head of Region MENA and Europe, and Clare Clement, Director of International Law and Policy.
Speaking to Rory, Wills said: “You saw my father recently. He mentioned it. Are we going to hear a little bit about what’s going on?”
The prince apologised for postponing their original meeting last month.
He had been due to visit with the Princess of Wales, aides explained, but was forced to cancel due to her abdominal surgery.
The Prince of Wales said: “It was important [to me] to get back in as soon as possible.
“I obviously went there in 2018 and I feel it had a lasting impression on me. So I have always been keeping an eye on what’s going on. I am very keen to hear from you guys what’s going on the ground and how the Red Cross teams, in particular, are managing in very difficult circumstances.”
Mr Moylan explained: “We really appreciate the interest you are showing in this. You will have heard it described as a catastrophic situation and that certainly matches our analysis. It has been getting worse for some time and has the potential to get exponentially worse to be quite honest.”
“It is intensely traumatic for people, it has garnered global interest and global concern and has had impact across the region.
“It is extremely polarising, it is highly politicised. And with all of that it makes it very hard for us as humanitarian workers to bring that agenda back to a humanitarian situation and not to be drawn into all those elements that I have just outlined.”
He continued: “We all hear the numbers but the sense of shock has worn off. We have a difficult to express and communicate how concerning the situation is: 30,000 dead approaching, 5000 injured and that’s out of a population of two million in Gaza.
“We have over a hundred hostages still being held, 1.7 million displaced from their homes in Gaza, which is effectively the entire population. A health system which it is fair to say that is decimated inside Gaza, it is not functioning.
“There’s no hospital that is functioning, staff are operating under intolerable conditions, without proper resources.
“They are part of their communities and having been providing life saving services – blood transfusions, running ambulances services, hospitals and a central role in the logistics operation.”
Clare Clement, director of international law and policy for the British Red Cross, also spoke to the prince and told him: “There are challenges for us and all of our partners are doing an extraordinary job but we have some severe issues in terms of access and protection from the fighting.
“We really need security assurances from all sides to be able to move where we need to move across the Gaza Strip. It’s becoming increasingly difficult and sometimes impossible to be able to deliver the aid where we need to deliver it and to rescue people.”
She added: “We have had two Palestine Red Crescent Seambulance drivers discovered last week in a bombed-out ambulance on their way to try and rescue a six year old girl who was also found dead.
“These individual examples belie the truth that we are seeing lots of our colleagues killed. We have seen 14 Palestine Red Crescent colleagues killed.”
Prince William then met Barbara Smith, of the psychosocial team at the charity, who provide mental health support to those who are enduring trauma and suffering around the world.
William was also seen smiling as he spoke to other employees at the London headquarters.
At a later date, William is also due to listen to young people at a synagogue speak about experiences of hatred and anti-Semitism since Gaza attacked Israel.
In a post on X/Twitter from The Prince and Princess of Wales’ official account, a message read: “Today marks the first of two visits over the next few weeks to hear more about the human impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“Beginning this afternoon, to hear about those supporting the humanitarian response.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales previously spoke of the October 7 attacks on Israel and war in Gaza and said: “The Prince and Princess of Wales are profoundly distressed by the devastating events that have unfolded in the past days.
“The horrors inflicted by Hamas’s terrorist attack upon Israel are appalling; they utterly condemn them.”
Sources close to the couple say they are “profoundly concerned” by the violence in Israel and Gaza and “continue to hold all the victims, their family and friends in their hearts and minds”.
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