The attack by Iran on Israel was “significant” and the UK is now working to de-escalate tensions in the region, according to Health Secretary Victoria Atkins.
Speaking on GB News, she said: “This was a significant attack by Iran on Israel and of course our thoughts are with everyone who have been affected by these attacks.
“Let’s not forget this wasn't just drones. This was also apparently missiles being fired over the region into Israel…this is a very fast-moving military situation and so I'm limited in what I can tell people and how I can update people.
“But what we do know is that both the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and others are working with our international partners to try and de-escalate tension in the area and to support Israel in this difficult time but also to ensure that we do not see further attacks further by Iran.
“None of us want to see the humanitarian impacts that this is having in the region.”
In a discussion with Camilla Tominey, she added: “We as a free democracy want to stand with the people of Israel.
“Israel is the only democracy in the region. It had that terrible, terrible attack in October. And we remind ourselves that there are still hostages that are held captive by Hamas. And of course, we want those hostages to be freed.
“We also want a humanitarian pause so that we can get aid into the affected area. That is a really important point.
She added: “We will be working to ensure that we stand with Israel, but we do so to try and de-escalate the tensions in the region, because nobody wants to see an escalation in the sorts of military activities that we have seen in the last 12 hours.”
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