Party treads careful line on the war, condemning Hamas ‘terrorism’ but also urging Israel to be proportionate in its response

Israel-Hamas war – latest updates

Keir Starmer was immediate in his condemnation of the Hamas attacks on Israel. He has been praised by the Jewish community for working to tackle antisemitism within Labour. And he has spoken of his personal commitment to turning around Labour’s reputation with British Jews, having a Jewish wife and observing some Jewish traditions as a family.

But the assault on Israel by Hamas and the counter-bombardment of Gaza has already been seized on by some Conservatives as part of an attempt to associate the party with the era of the former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who was accused by some of failing to deal adequately with antisemitism in Labour.