Britain’s Prince William released a statement on Tuesday calling for more aid into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as well as the release of the remaining 134 Israeli hostages being held by Palestinian terrorists.
“I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7. Too many have been killed,” began the statement from the heir to the British throne.
“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,” it continued.
The future king issued the statement ahead of a series of engagements in the next few weeks, during which he will visit a synagogue and meet with activists fighting antisemitism. The Prince of Wales will highlight that Jew-hatred has risen to alarming levels in the United Kingdom and around the world.
Shortly after the Hamas onslaught on Israel on Oct. 7, the Prince and Princess of Wales expressed horror and concern over the attacks, saying they were “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; we utterly condemn them.
“As Israel exercises its right of self-defense, all Israelis and Palestinians will continue to be stalked by grief, fear and anger in the time to come. Their Royal Highnesses hold all the victims, their families and their friends in their hearts and minds. Those the Prince of Wales met in 2018 overwhelmingly shared a common hope—that of a better future,” added the statement.
William visited Israel in June 2018, in the first such trip by a member of the British royal family to the Jewish state. He also met with Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, telling him he hopes for a “lasting peace” in the region.
Following the Oct. 7 massacre, King Charles, William’s father, called Israeli President Isaac Herzog to “express his condolences and deep shock at the criminal and barbaric actions of the terrorist organization Hamas in its attack on the citizens of Israel.”
Last year, plans were already underway for the king, who was anointed with oil from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, to visit Israel.
More recently, Herzog sent good wishes on behalf of the people of Israel to the king following his cancer diagnosis.
“I have greatly appreciated my recent conversations and the opportunities to meet with His Majesty, and have always greatly benefited from his wisdom and insight. I look forward to seeing His Majesty’s swift return to public engagements,” Herzog tweeted.