It is not lost on me that today is Friday 13th, and whilst I am not given much to superstition it seems a pretty grim time in the world. I spent last weekend on the edge of the de-militarised zone in Cyprus, at a ceremony to mark the 1974 Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus. Remembering the dead and missing, whilst just 100 miles away Hamas had launched a devastating terrorist attack on Israel. It was inevitable that Israel would retaliate, and that international calls for moderation and mediation would be futile.
The loss of life has been horrific, on both sides, and it is clear many British people have been killed, and many more have lost close family members and friends. Images from the Supernova music festival in the desert of Southern Israel have highlighted that it is innocent civilians who have been targeted. But equally, the determination to turn Gaza to rubble means many more innocent women and children will lose their lives.
Jewish communities here in the UK are rightly worried, and the PM is absolutely right to seek to reassure them. The Embassy in London has been boarded up and school children are being told they need not wear uniforms that identify them as attending Jewish schools. The threat of increased anti-Semitic attacks here is deeply worrying, and we need to stand united against these appalling acts of terror.
