Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expressing alarm at Britain’s and the world’s eroded “moral clarity” over the current conflict in Gaza between democratic Israel and the “Islamist death cult” of Hamas, as he denounces the October 7 Hamas massacre as “among the most depraved events in the history of human cruelty,” and accused demonstrators waving Palestinian flags of offering “encouragement to the baby-killers of Hamas.”
In a hard-hitting essay published by the Daily Mail, the former prime minister delves deep into the dialogue surrounding Hamas’ multi-pronged invasion into Israel in what was the worst terrorist attack in the Jewish state’s history.
BORIS JOHNSON: A blinding flash, a father dying in front of his sons, and a video that proves Israel is fighting for survival against a death cult...
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) October 27, 2023
✍️ https://t.co/mKUwYi21uM pic.twitter.com/BmB061VvC7
The massacre saw some 2,500 terrorists burst into Israel by land, sea, and air and gun down participants at an outdoor music festival while others went door-to-door hunting for Jewish men, women, and children in local towns who were then subject to torture, rape, execution, and kidnapping.
The attack resulted in more than 1,400 dead inside the Jewish state, over 5,300 more wounded, and at least 240 hostages of all ages taken.
In the essay, Johnson addresses the apparent diminishing of moral awareness in Britain and globally, urging readers to wake up to the reality of the situation.
Describing one incident, the British politician narrates the horrifying ordeal of an Israeli family, targeted in their home.
“At about 6am we see the father emerge from sleep…They rush for a shelter but before they have time to seal themselves inside, a Hamas terrorist jumps over the wall and throws a grenade in after them,” he writes, painting a vivid picture of the terror inflicted upon innocent lives.
He continues:
There is a blinding flash in the shelter. The father comes out and dies in a pool of blood. His badly injured sons follow, stepping over their father’s body. The scene cuts to the kitchen. The boys are on the floor. The terrorist is getting a drink from the fridge. He first takes some cold water, then drops the jug and finds some cola, which he chugs back. One boy sets up a piteous wail: ‘Why am I alive? Why are we alive? Brother, this is not a prank, our father is dead.’ Then they discuss the other child’s badly bleeding eye. He can’t see, he says; and that is the last we see of them.
He then describes a young school-aged girl being chased under a desk and shot at point-blank range, and others being tortured, burned, and beheaded.
“There is a reason why these images do not appear in papers such as this one,” Johnson explains. “They are simply too gruesome, and they are not published because these victims are innocent human beings who in their lives had beauty and grace and worth, and who do not deserve to be exhibited to the world in the final extremities of their suffering.”
Calling the massacre “among the most sickening and depraved events in all the history of human cruelty,” Johnson accused many in Britain and around the world of having “lost all moral clarity.”
Johnson calls attention to the global response, criticizing the prevalent attitude that treats “Hamas and Israel as two belligerent parties in an ancient quarrel,” thereby minimizing the atrocity of the events.
“A fog has descended. We have forgotten which way is up,” he declares, urging for a reevaluation of the situation.
Citing footage shown to journalists in which a young Hamas terrorist is seen calling his parents in Gaza, the former PM brings to light the extremism and brutality of Hamas.
“’I have killed ten Jews today,’ the terrorist boasts, as the parents weep for joy. ‘I am a hero! I have killed ten Jews!’” he quotes him as saying, illustrating the depth of the indoctrination and hatred propagated by Hamas.
The young man “boasting” about killing innocent and defenseless civilians is a member of the government of Hamas, Johnson highlighted.
“I repeat, the government — of Gaza. This jihadi didn’t just go on a casual anti-Semitic shooting spree. He was part of a long-meditated and deep-laid plan to kill as many Jews as possible, in circumstances as humiliating and degrading as possible; and that plan was devised by Hamas, the government of Gaza,” he wrote.
“These are the very same people whose casualty statistics are spouted so trustingly by the BBC; the same people who claimed that it was an Israeli bomb that killed those poor people at the hospital — an assertion that turned out to be a lie,” he added.
He also criticizes the notion that the public must “listen to Hamas when they protest that Gaza is running out of fuel (which also seems to be doubtful when you look at Hamas fuel stocks).”
“[N]ow more and more people are calling for a ‘ceasefire’, as if this was a war between two powers that basically respect the Geneva Conventions on the laws of war,” he writes.
“It is no such thing,” he added. “This is now an attempt by a decent, civilised and democratic society to deal with an Islamist death cult.”
Distinguishing between the actions of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas, Johnson writes, “On the one side — it can never be said too often — we see Israeli Defense Forces that are trying to minimize civilian casualties. On the other side, Hamas terrorists who want to maximize civilian casualties and who brag about how many Jews they have killed and maimed and raped.”
While both Palestinians and Israelis mourn the loss of innocent Palestinian lives, he asserts that the responsibility for placing these civilians in harm’s way lies with Hamas.
“We grieve for the innocent Palestinians who are losing their lives — and so do Israelis. But it is Hamas that has thrust those victims in the line of fire,” he writes, asking: “What has gone wrong with us that we cannot see it?”
He also condemns broadcasters for not labeling Hamas “terrorists” while criticizing public demonstrations supporting Palestinians, arguing that they inadvertently encourage Hamas’ violent actions.
“Shame on broadcasters for refusing to call Hamas terrorists. Shame on those tens of thousands of people, in this country, who took to the streets after the October 7 massacre to show their support — for the Palestinians!” he writes.
“What message do you think you are sending to Hamas, all you who wave your Palestinian flags, your disgusting Nazi-era banners with images of the Star of David being thrown in the bin?” he asked. “You are effectively sending a message of support, and that means, I am afraid, that you are giving succour and encouragement to the baby-killers of Hamas.”
According to Johnson, equating the actions on “both sides” blurs the moral distinction between terrorism and self-defense.
“If you say that it is all relative, and that there are faults on both sides, then again I am afraid you are failing to think clearly, and you are making a moral equation between deeds that cannot be equated, between terrorism and self-defence,” he writes.
He addresses the broader issue of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, advocating for a two-state solution and peace, while also questioning the potential trust in the aftermath of such violence.
“I want the Palestinians to have their own homeland — though you have to wonder how the Israelis will ever trust them to make it work after the catastrophic consequences of letting Hamas run Gaza,” he notes.
He touches upon historical context and the need for a safe homeland for Jewish people, referencing responses to the massacre as a clear demonstration for its necessity:
If you step back and look at the broad sweep of post-war history, you also have to wonder why this is the one territorial dispute that continues to excite such viciousness and such hatred. Think of the colossal movements of people around the world after 1945, the tens of millions who were turned into refugees as the maps were re-drawn. Why has this question proved so insoluble? Is it just Israeli intransigence? Or is it also the recurring virus of anti-Semitism that continues to be so prevalent, not just in the Middle East but around the world?
“After the horrors of the early 20th century, the international community had no choice. We had to create a homeland, in Palestine, where Jewish people could feel safe,” he added. “After some of the responses to the October 7 massacre — including, I am sad to say, in the UK — I am more glad than ever that we did.”
Johnson concludes by calling for restraint and proportionality, praying for minimal loss of life, while imploring readers to stop equating Hamas and Israel, stating, “that ubiquitous tendency to moral equivalence is wrong; it is sick; and it is doing the terrorists’ work for them.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at
