Tel Aviv, Israel

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson on Sunday (Nov 5) visited Jerusalem, and met with British soldiers enlisted in the Israeli Army. The British leader, who was accompanied by former Australian PM Scott Morrison, also visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which was devastated in the terror attack by Hamas militants on October 7.

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Johnson talks to troops

As per Reuters news agency, the British leader, during his conversation with the soldiers, expressed his support for the troops and said he disagreed with those trying to make a moral equivalence between what the Israeli soldiers are doing and what the Hamas militants are doing.

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Kibbutz Kfar Aza visit

Johnson, accompanied by former Australian PM Morrison, also paid a visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the area which became the scene of devastation as Hamas militants launched their October 7 attack called Operation Al-Aqsa Floodgate.

The two leaders, along with Israeli soldiers and officials, also walked into some houses that were burned during the October 7 attacks.

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Johnson, as reported by Reuters, said that he believed that the attacks, which killed over 1,400 Israelis, might suggest that the memory of the Holocaust is “starting to fade” but stressed that antisemitism "simply cannot be tolerated".

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Memory of the Holocaust 'starting to fade'

Later, talking to the press, Johnson said he believed that the attacks, which killed over 1,400 Israelis, might suggest that the memory of the Holocaust is "starting to fade". He also stressed that antisemitism "simply cannot be tolerated".

"There's been no single attack like this on the Jewish people since the Second World War, and that's a matter of record," said Johnson.

"I think that maybe because across the world, the memory and the lesson of that appalling crime, where six million died, the memory may be starting to fade. And it may be that what we're really seeing right now, in some of these marches and these demos, and the unthinking way people are talking about this issue, what we're starting to see perhaps, I hope this really isn't the case, we're seeing more and more evidence of antisemitism."

"In the end, that is something that simply cannot be tolerated, neither in my country nor anywhere else," he emphasised.

In the attack, as per Israeli estimates, around 1,400 people were killed, while more than 230 were taken hostage by the militants. These kidnapped individuals, which involve foreign nationals and around 30 children, remain with the Hamas, amid calls for their release. As of Sunday, more than 9,770 Palestinians have been killed in the war, said Gaza health officials.

(With inputs from agencies)