King Charles III of the United Kingdom called Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday to “express his condolences and deep shock at the criminal and barbaric actions of the terrorist organization Hamas in its attack on the citizens of Israel” on Oct. 7, according to a readout from Herzog’s spokesperson.
Herzog thanked the king “for his support for the people of Israel at this difficult time, and said that his words were an important statement and of great comfort to the people of Israel and the entire Jewish people,” per the readout. “The two talked at length about the terrible massacre and how it was carried out.”
Other members of the royal family have expressed deep concern, said Buckingham Palace sources. The king’s “thoughts and prayers are with all of those suffering, particularly those who have lost loved ones, but also those actively involved as we speak,” stated a spokesperson.
Prince William and Kate Middleton issued a joint statement Wednesday evening condemning Hamas’s barbaric attack on Israel. But their statement implied a tacit equivalency between the Israeli victims and the people in Gaza as they referred to the suffering of “all Israelis and Palestinians.”
“The Prince and Princess of Wales are profoundly distressed by the devastating events that have unfolded in the past days. The horrors inflicted by Hamas’s terrorist attack upon Israel are appalling; they utterly condemn them.”
“As Israel exercises its right of self-defense, all Israelis and Palestinians will continue to be stalked by grief, fear and anger in the time to come. Their Royal Highnesses hold all the victims, their families and their friends in their hearts and minds. Those the Prince of Wales met in 2018 overwhelmingly shared a common hope—that of a better future.”
“In the midst of such terrible suffering, The Prince and Princess continue to share that hope without reservation.”
King Charles, then prince of Wales, spent time in Israel in January 2020, and a spokesperson referred to his visit to Judea and Samaria as that of “occupied” Palestinian territories.
Earlier in the year, plans were already underway for the king, who was anointed with Mount of Olives oil, to visit Israel, which would be a first for a British monarch.
