Sunak chairs Cobra meeting on domestic threat linked to Hamas and Israel war

Rishi Sunak has convened an emergency Cobra meeting amid fears that the conflict between Hamas and Israel could have increased the domestic terror threat in Britain.

The Prime Minister assembled police and national security officials and Home Secretary Suella Braverman in Whitehall on Monday morning.

Downing Street said discussions would focus on how the fighting in the Middle East is “impacting on domestic communities”.

He played down suggestions that the terror threat level – which stands at “substantial” in England, Wales and Scotland – could be increased at the meeting.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned on Sunday that terrorism is being “accelerated” by events in the Middle East, as he raised concerns about “state threats from Iran”.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is in Abu Dhabi for talks on getting humanitarian aid into Gaza and allowing civilians, including British nationals, to leave.

He said the United Arab Emirates has had a “thoughtful and authoritative” voice on aid, as he meets Emirati foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Mr Cleverly warned supplies are “predominantly stuck” in Egypt as allies push for a “humanitarian pause” to allow aid to reach the Gaza Strip, which is home to more than two million people.

“It’s trickling through, but we need a significant increase in the volume,” he told broadcasters in the UAE.

In the UK, Downing Street sought to discourage protesters from chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

The phrase to some is a call of support for the Palestinian people, but others, including Ms Braverman, have linked it to antisemitism.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said it is is “deeply offensive chant to many”, urging people to be “responsible for their use of language”.

“Obviously it’s up to the police to make an operational decision about the use of that language if they see fit to do so, but I can understand how the use of that language and others will be of significant concern to many,” the spokesman said.

Education minister Robert Halfon told LBC it is a “fearful time” for British Jews as tensions have risen since Hamas’s wave of bloodshed launched on Israel on October 7.

The terror threat level has been substantial since February last year when it was lowered from “severe”, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Asked on Times Radio whether it could be raised in Britain, Mr Halfon said: “I’m not at that Cobra meeting. I’m sure it will be announced later on.

“But, of course, we have to make sure that British citizens are safe and secure from the threat of terrorism, as the Government always does.”

However, Mr Sunak’s spokesman said the threat level is altered by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre rather than at a Cobra meeting.

“We have expert security services and police forces working around the clock to try and keep the public safe. Clearly we recognise the potential for increased challenges due to the ongoing situation in Israel and Gaza. We’re very mindful of that,” he said.

“It is why there have been continuous discussions including with security services and the police about how we can keep the public safe. Clearly we recognise the potential for increased challenges due to the ongoing situation in Israel and Gaza.”

Around 200 UK nationals in Gaza have contacted the Foreign Office as hopes are pinned on getting the Rafah crossing with Egypt opened to allow their release.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said Egypt and Israel are prepared to let foreign nationals out of Gaza, but Hamas are “preventing their departure and making a series of demands”.

Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf said his in-laws have run out of drinking water after getting trapped in Gaza while visiting family.

The UK Government is only calling for a pause in the fighting rather than the ceasefire the United Nations and others are pushing for.

Mr Sunak has argued that Tel Aviv has a right to defend itself as it seeks to rescue the more than 239 hostages seized by Hamas because its fighters killed more than 1,400 people in Israel.

Thirty-three lorries entered Gaza on Sunday in the largest aid convoy since the attack provoked Israel’s siege, cutting off food, water, fuel and medicines to combatants as well as civilians.

Israeli troops and tanks pushed deeper into northern and central Gaza on Monday, as Tel Aviv expanded its ground offensive after pounding the territory with air strikes.

The death toll among Palestinians has passed 8,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.