Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for restraint saying Israel’s yearlong war on Gaza has affected community relations in the UK.

“The sparks light touchpapers in our own communities here at home,” Starmer wrote in the Sunday Times before the anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel. “Israel and the Middle East are not just inseparable from our nation’s history. They have a deep relationship with our multicultural society. Millions have family ties to the region.”

While Starmer said the UK would “stand with Israel in the face of Iranian aggression”, he also cautioned “a better future will not be won by traumatising, orphaning and displacing another generation.”

“The anniversary of the October 7 attacks should remind us of the cost of political failure. No security will be found in greater destabilisation.”