Labour stands with the people of Israel - David Lammy
- Published
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has said Labour "stands with the people of Israel", following attacks by Hamas.
Speaking to a fringe event at the Labour conference, Mr Lammy said "Israel has a right to self-defence against terrorism".
Any response should be "proportionate" and "within international law", Mr Lammy added.
More than 600 Israelis have reportedly been killed in attacks from Gaza since Saturday.
Retaliatory Israeli air strikes have killed at least 370 people in the Gaza Strip, with 2,200 wounded, Palestinian officials say.
A British man serving with the Israeli military has been killed on the Gaza border, his family says.
Images of "elderly people, children and women being taken, being shot, some being held as hostages is deeply, deeply worrying," Mr Lammy said.
If a similar attack had happened in the UK "we would be approaching that on a war footing", he said.
"It would be incredibly serious we would do what we thought it took, within international law."
Later, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his thoughts were with the family of the British man Nathanel Young "and with all those whose families and communities have been touched by this terrible violence".
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday.
He said: "I want to express my absolute solidarity for the people of Israel now is not a time for equivocation, and I'm unequivocal. Hamas, and the people who support Hamas, are fully responsible for this appalling act of terror, for the murder of civilians and for the kidnapping of innocent people, including children."
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn refused to condemn Hamas at a left-wing event held outside the Labour Party conference.
Mr Corbyn said he did not "support any attacks", but in a tetchy exchange with journalists declined to set out his view on Hamas despite being repeatedly asked whether he would condemn the group.
Mr Corbyn said he wanted "peace, a ceasefire and a process that ends the Israeli occupation of Palestine".
The former leader is sitting as an independent MP after being removed from Labour's parliamentary party over his response to a report on antisemitism under his leadership. He remains a party member.
Under Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party increasingly supported Palestinian movements and criticised Israeli policies.
During the 2018 Labour conference, hundreds of members unfurled Palestinian flags and chanted slogans during a debate on a motion aimed at showing support for Palestinian people.
Speaking at the Labour conference Mr Lammy reminded members that "Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation" in the UK.
Labour's official position is to support a two-state solution respecting "sovereignty of Israel and the dignity and human rights of Palestinians," Mr Lammy said.
Mr Lammy's comments came after an interview given by Sir Keir to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
Sir Keir described the rocket fire and incursions from Gaza as an "appalling terrorist attack", saying Israel has "every right to defend herself".