Sunak also reiterated that Israel has “every right to defend itself” in retaliation to Hamas’ attacks on its territory LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has spoken with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu about the need for Israel to minimize impact on civilians during its expected ground invasion of Gaza. During a visit to a Jewish school in north London on Monday, Sunak also reiterated that Israel has “every right to defend itself” in retaliation to Hamas’ attacks on its territory, adding: “If something like this happened here, it’s what people would expect from this government.” Sunak raised the question of the humanitarian situation in Gaza where more than 2,700 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded in airstrikes by the Israeli military. The prime minister said he stressed to Netanyahu the need for military operations to target Hamas and not innocent civilians. Sunak said: “Israel has been very clear that Hamas is the entity that’s responsible for this and what they want to do is ensure that their people are safe and that this doesn’t happen again, and that the focus of the attention of self-defense is on Hamas. “And I think that’s right. Nobody wants to see regional escalation, and certainly the Israeli prime minister does not, when I’ve spoken to him.” Hamas militants killed more than 1,400 people during the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and took dozens more hostage, prompting Israel to declare war on the Islamic group — which rules the Gaza Strip — the following day, unleashing a relentless bombing campaign on the enclave. At least 199 people are being held hostage in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. The UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said an estimated 10 British citizens are included in that number. Sunak has condemned some incidents at pro-Palestinian marches across the UK over the weekend as “simply not acceptable,” after police made more than a dozen arrests. He said: “There is no place in our society for antisemitism and we will do everything we can to stamp it out. And where it happens, it will be met with the full force of the law.” London’s Metropolitan Police said it arrested 15 people at Saturday’s pro-Palestinian protest in the center of the British capital, during which tens of thousands of people demonstrated in support of those in Gaza. Three men were charged with offenses, with a 68-year-old man suspected of making racist comments, and another two held on suspicion of illegal knife possession and failing to remove a face covering. Sunak added: “They’ve made several arrests but they’re also now reviewing footage of some of the things that many people would have seen that are just simply not acceptable, and where they can they will be able to make further arrests.” Sunak said praising Hamas, which is a banned terrorist organization under UK law, could result in a lengthy prison sentence. He told British media: “It’s very clear under the law: The support and glorification of Hamas is illegal and those offenses are punishable with up to almost 14 years in jail.”