Shocked by the scenes at a lovely hospital. We are working independently with our allies to suss out what has happened. Mr. Speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. I shall have further such meetings later today. Matt associate myself and all of my party with the horace unfolding in gaza at the hospital. The Border Crossing has been hit by several israeli airstrikes causing absolute terror for those hoping the crossing is open to escape. The wife of scotlands first minister has had to take calls from afghans who have been describing the horrors of death and in discomfort killings everywhere. Members of family were hit by rocket from a drone. Saying last night was the end for me. Better my heart stops, and then i will be at peace. Mr. Speaker, with those actions intensifying in the death toll rising, the goal must be to bring citizens home. Of course the thoughts of everyone in this house will be there with the families by with those affected by what is happening in israel and gaza. We are doing everything in our power to ensure everyone doing their part in all of this, particularly in opening the Border Crossing. And we continue to have dialogue about the crossing. Mr. Speaker, im proud to live in the most successful democracy in the world. It saddens me i think it shames the whole data house the british jews have been subjected to such hatred, antisemitism and all hate crimes like in the face of British Values and we should not allow events abroad, no matter how horrific they are, to be used to sow seeds of division in our country. Whilst i welcome all the actions of my right honorable friends to fight hate crimes and bring people together, matt ask him to consider urgently an immediate and specific policy of revoking the visas of any Foreign National that can make it an active antisemitism or any other hate crime. I agree with my honorable friend, the increase in incidents were seen over the past week is utterly sickening. This government will do whatever it takes to keep our Jewish Committee safe. The funding to support the community, and were working with the police to ensure that hate crime and terror is met with the full force of the law. There are existing immigration rules, if it is not conducive to the public good. We will not tolerate this hatred in our country, not in this century. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Can i start by warmly welcoming the new member from hamilton west. Mr. Speaker, the views last night of hundreds killed at the Baptist Hospital in gaza is incredibly distressing. But it is much worse for the people of gaza. Their fear that there is no place for safety is profound. International law must be upheld and that means hospitals and civilian lives must be protected. Last night the foreign secretary said the u. K. Will work with our allies to find out what has happened. I know this happened last night, but kenny please tell us any might be able to update the house on the progress. I know the whole house will be shocked, any loss of innocent life is a dreadful tragedy and everyone will be thinking both of those who have lost their lives and of the families they leave behind. We should not rush to judgment before we have all the facts on this awful situation. Every member will know that the words we say here have an impact beyond this house. This morning, i met the National Security adviser and the chair of the joint intelligence committee, and i can tell the honorable gentlemen that our Intelligence Services have been rapidly analysing the evidence to independently establish the facts. We are not in a position at this point to say more than that, but i can tell him that we are working at pace and cooperating and collaborating with our allies on this issue as we look to get to the bottom of the situation. We will also continue all our efforts to get humanitarian aid into the region. The terrible news last night came as we are still mourning the terrorist attack on israel last week, with jews taken hostage, mutilated, slaughtered. Yesterday i met the families of some of the british hostages held by hamas. Every minute of every hour of every day, they hope for good news but fear the worst. They know that the lives of their loved ones are in the hands of murderers. It is unimaginable agony. Israel has a right, a duty, to defend itself from hamas, keep its people safe and bring the hostages home, but is it not clear that if hamas had a single concern for human life, a single concern for the safety of the Palestinian People, they would never have taken these hostages, and that they should release them immediately . It is important for us consistently to remember that israel has suffered a shockingly brutal terrorist attack, and it is hamas, and hamas alone, who are responsible for this conflict. Our thoughts are rightly with those who have been taken hostage and their families. The distress they are feeling will be unimaginable for all those affected. I will be meeting some of the families and offering them all the support of the British Government to get their relatives home. We are working around the clock with our partners and allies to secure their freedom and, importantly, in among my other regional calls, i spoke specifically with the emir of qatar yesterday on this very issue, which we discussed at length. The qatari government are taking a lead in working intensely to help release hostages using their contacts in the region, and we are working closely with them to ensure the safe return of the british hostages. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Yesterday i also met charities with staff working in gaza and heard their accounts of the harrowing humanitarian crisis children fleeing their homes; hospitals barely able to function. The lights are going out, and the innocent civilians of gaza are terrified that they will die in the darkness, out of sight. International law must always be followed. Hamas are not the Palestinian People, and the Palestinian People are not hamas. Does the Prime Minister agree that medicines, food, fuel and water must get into gaza immediately . This is an urgent situation, and innocent palestinians need to know that the world is not just simply watching, but acting to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. As i said on monday, an acute humanitarian crisis is unfolding to which we must respond. It is right that we support the Palestinian People, because they are victims of hamas too. That is why we have provided a further £10 million in humanitarian aid for people in the region, and we are working on preemptively moving aid and relief teams to egypt, specifically to the elarish airfield. We are working with local partners like the egyptian red crescent and the United Nations, primarily, and deploying navy assets to the region, as well as exploring how we can support logistical requirements. I have also raised the issue of humanitarian access, as a priority, in all my conversations with every leader in the region. We will continue to work with them to get aid to where it is needed as quickly as possible. As has been alluded to, since hamass terrorist attack our country has seen a disgusting rise in antisemitism jewish businesses attacked, jewish schools marked with red paint and jewish families hiding who they are. And we have seen an appalling surge in islamophobia racist graffiti, mosques forced to ramp up security, and british muslims and palestinians spoken to as if they are terrorists. Does the Prime Minister agree with me that every member of this house has a duty to work in their constituency and across the country to say no to this hate and to ensure that every british jew and every british muslim knows they can live their life free from fear and free from discrimination here in their own country . All of us in this house can play our part in stamping out those who seek to cause division and hate in our society. We will make sure that we continue funding the Community Security trust and the equivalent protective security grant that protects mosques and other places of worship for the Islamic Community in the uk. That funding was increased earlier this year. We will also remain in dialogue with the police to make sure they are aware of the full tools at their disposal to arrest those who perpetrate hate crime and who incite racial or other religious violence. There is no place for that in our society, and i know this house will stand united in making sure those who do this face the full force of the law. We do not want this conflict to harm us here at home, and we do not want it to escalate in the middle east, where there has been too much bloodshed, too much darkness, for too long. A twostate solution, a palestinian state alongside a safe and secure israel, feels more distant than ever, but it remains the only way through. Does the Prime Minister agree that, because hope is at its thinnest, we must work our hardest to ensure that the voices of division and despair are sidelined and that, however difficult it seems, the hope of a political path to peace is maintained . It is precisely because it is that vision of a more hopeful, peaceful future that hamas have tried to destroy that we must redouble our efforts to try to bring that future about. In all the conversations that the foreign secretary and i have had with regional leaders, we have emphasised our commitment to making sure that we make progress on all the avenues that will lead towards that peaceful future. That has been a feature of our dialogue, and i am confident there is willingness in the region not to escalate this crisis beyond dealing with hamas, the terrorist organization, and to strive very hard towards a future where palestinians and israelis can coexist peacefully, side by side, and look forward to a future filled with dignity, security and prosperity. This is a crisis where lives hang in the balance and where the enemies of peace and democracy would like nothing more than for us to become divided and to abandon our values. Does the Prime Minister agree that, during this grave crisis, the house must strive to speak with one voice in condemnation of terror, in support of israels right to selfdefense and for the dignity of all human life, which cannot be protected without humanitarian access to those suffering in gaza and the constant maintenance of the rule of International Law . I agree. We will, in this house, speak with one voice in condemning hamas for perpetrating a shockingly brutal terrorist attack and causing untold suffering for many. As the honored gentleman said, we stand united in supporting israels right to defend itself, to protect its people and to act against terrorism. Unlike hamas, the israeli president has make it very clear that israels armed forces will operate in accordance with International Law. We will continue to urge the israelis to take every precaution to avoid harming civilians, while remembering, importantly, that it is hamas who are cruelly embedding themselves in civilian populations. May i associate myself with the words of the Prime Minister, and commend him and the foreign secretary for the work they are doing to find a peaceful settlement in the middle east . Can i welcome the Prime Ministers decision to provide £12 billionworth of funding for eastwest highspeed rail lines between manchester and liverpool, and his focus on Great Northern towns as well as cities in the north . Will he ensure that towns such as warrington benefit fully from this rail upgrade and that a hub station at Warrington Bank quay linking Northern Powerhouse rail to the west coast main line remains a key part of the Network North . I thank my hon. Friend for his continued campaign to improve Rail Services in warrington. He is right we will be investing £12 billion to Better Connect manchester and liverpool. That would allow for the delivery of Northern Powerhouse rail, exactly as previously planned, including highspeed lines, which would provide better rail connections for the People Living in northern towns such as warrington. I know that he will be discussing this further when he meets the rail minister. We all continue to unequivocally condemn the abhorrent terrorist attack on the jewish people and the israeli state. We fully support the defeat of hamas and, of course, the safe return of all hostages who have been taken. So, too, i hope, do we all share the same common humanity of protecting civilians and condemning any acts of collective punishment against the Palestinian People. In that regard, many of the images emanating from gaza in recent days will shock us all to the core, so may i ask the Prime Minister will he join those of us on these benches and call for an immediate ceasefire in the region . We believe that israel does have a right to defend itself, to protect its people and to act against terrorism and ensure that the awful attack we have seen from hamas cannot happen again. Unlike hamas, the israelis, including the president , have made it clear that their armed forces will operate in accordance with International Law. We will continue to urge the israelis to take every precaution to avoid harming civilians. My ask for a ceasefire is done with all sincerity, not only in order to protect civilians, but to ensure that we have the safe creation of humanitarian corridors, which will allow not only for food, water and vital medicines to get into gaza, but for innocent civilians caught up in this terrible conflict to flee. In respect of those who wish to flee, may i ask the Prime Minister what early consideration, if any, his government have given to the creation of a Refugee Resettlement scheme akin to those previously put in place for syrian nationals, afghani nationals and, of course, ukrainian nationals . I am proud that we are already one of the most significant contributors to the United Nations efforts to support palestinian refugees; our funding supports about 5. 8 million refugees annually, and on monday we announced a significant increase in our funding of aid to the region, including to the un to support refugees. With regard to humanitarian aid, as i said before, we are already working through preemptively moving aid and relief teams into the region. But, critically, the most important thing is to open up access for that aid to get into gaza, which is why our conversations with the egyptians and others are so critical. We continue to work closely with allies to find every way to get that aid to the people who need it as quickly as possible. Last night, sections of the british media were reporting as fact that it was israeli rockets that had landed and attacked the alahli hospital, relying on information supplied by officials in terroristcontrolled gaza. The headlines have since been rewritten, but the outpouring of jew hate on social media overnight was vile. So will the Prime Minister please make the point again that the way that this conflict is being reported has massive implications for our Jewish Community and that any information coming from hamas must be treated with a degree of scrutiny and crossexamination that is, sadly, sometimes lacking . I commend my right hon. Friend for his excellent intervention. He is absolutely right that we should not rush to judgment before we have all the facts on the appalling situation that we saw yesterday, particularly given the sensitivity that he raises and the impact on communities here, but also across the region. As i said, it is incumbent on all of those in positions of responsibility in this house and outside in the media to recognise that the words we say will have an impact, and we should be careful with them. We are working with our allies to establish the truth of what has happened. We will do that robustly and independently, but he is right to point out that in the same way as we do not treat what comes out of the kremlin as the gospel truth, we should not do that with hamas. I associate my party with the comments made in relation to the deplorable loss of innocent human life in both israel and gaza. Having left the european union, building links and cooperation across the four nations of our United Kingdom can only strengthen the union. Will the Prime Minister agree with my proposal for the creation of an Eastwest Council, to bring together all parts of the uk family to discuss and collaborate on trade and the many other opportunities presented by the union . The right hon. Gentleman made a powerful case in his Conference Speech last weekend for a strong, functioning Northern Ireland within our union. My right hon. Friend the secretary of state for Northern Ireland has had the opportunity to discuss our shared commitment to the union with the right hon. Gentlemans party over recent weeks and months, and i am grateful for the constructive approach and tone taken in those discussions. There is considerable merit in the idea of a new Eastwest Council to further strengthen the union, and i look forward to exploring the issue further with him and his colleagues. Following my right hon. Friends decision to reallocate funding from hs2, may i urge him to consider a number of projects that will boost the economy and improve the qua