Ex-spy chief: Gaza brings huge threat of radicalisation here
BRITAIN risks an “unparalleled” threat of homegrown radicalisation because of the war in Gaza, the former head of MI6 warned today.
Sir Alex Younger was asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme if UK spies were looking at a potential increase in terrorism in response to Israel’s offensive, which has claimed more than 18,000 Palestinian lives.
The ex-chief of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency said: “Speaking domestically, my understanding is that whilst we don’t see a serious uptick now, what really alarms my former colleagues is a scale of radicalisation as a result of what is happening in the Middle East that is pretty well unparalleled.
“That augurs trouble ahead.”
A week after the October 7 killing spree by Hamas across southern Israel, MI5 director general Ken McCallum said the domestic intelligence agency was paying “very close attention” to events in the Middle East.
Sir Alex’s warning came as top US official Jake Sullivan faced tense talks in Israel today after its government vowed to pursue the war against Hamas “to the end” despite foreign outrage over the heavy toll on Palestinian civilians.
Mr Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, was expected to press the Israelis to be more precise with their strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza, according to US officials. Nearly half of the relentless aerial strikes unleashed by Israel have been unguided, or “dumb bombs”, according to a US intelligence assessment reported by CNN.
The US president said this week that Israel was losing support over its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza, and the UN General Assembly voted to demand a ceasefire. Mr Biden called on Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change course.
But Mr Netanyahu was defiant last night ahead of his meeting with Mr Sullivan. “We are continuing until the end, there is no question,” he said. “I say this even given the great pain and the international pressure. Nothing will stop us.”
The premier spoke after nine Israeli soldiers were killed in the war’s deadliest ambush yet in Gaza by Hamas fighters, underscoring the terrorist group’s resilience after more than two months’ of war sparked by its murderous attacks on Israeli civilians, which claimed some 1,200 lives.
Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza has seen a mass movement of civilians attempting to escape the frontlines, leading to a humanitarian “disaster” with most of its 2.3 million people left homeless and lacking in essential supplies, according to aid agencies.
“We’ve got a textbook formula for epidemics and a public health disaster,” said Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory.
At the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, sick babies were crammed several to a bed in the children’s ward. Medics are seeing cases of extreme dehydration, said Dr Ahmed al-Farra, head of paediatrics at the hospital.
There had also been up to 30 cases of hepatitis A, which takes up to a month to incubate, he said. “So after a month there will be an explosion in the number of cases of hepatitis A, and this is a very dangerous indicator that should
be paid attention to.”