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UK Seeks Balanced Position on Israel and Gaza, Says New Foreign Minister Lammy

Britain's newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves 10 Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Britain's newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves 10 Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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UK Seeks Balanced Position on Israel and Gaza, Says New Foreign Minister Lammy

Britain's newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves 10 Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Britain's newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves 10 Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. (Reuters)

Britain wants a balanced position on the war in the Middle East and will use diplomatic efforts to ensure a ceasefire is reached and hostages held by Palestinian armed group Hamas are released, its new foreign minister David Lammy told Reuters.

Lammy is on a visit to Germany, his first international trip following the Labour Party's thumping victory in Britain's election on Friday, which ended 14 years of Conservative government and propelled Keir Starmer to power as prime minister.

"The time has come for the United Kingdom to reconnect with the outside world," Lammy said in an interview in Berlin.

"I want to get back to a balanced position on Israel and Gaza. We've been very clear that we want to see a ceasefire ... We want to see those hostages out."

He added: "The fighting has to stop, the aid has got to get in, and I will use all diplomatic efforts to ensure that we get to that ceasefire."

Lammy did not elaborate.

The Labour Party suffered significant election setbacks in areas with large Muslim populations in the election on Friday amid discontent over its position on the war in Gaza, despite a landslide victory in the parliamentary vote.

Efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza gathered momentum on Friday after Hamas made a revised proposal on the terms of a deal, and Israel said negotiations would continue into next week.

Gaza health authorities say more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive launched in response to a Hamas-led assault on Israel last Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Lammy also said Britain would seek to reset its position globally on issues including the climate crisis as well as key relationships, such as with European and emerging powers.

"Let us put the Brexit years behind us ... there's much that we can do together," Lammy said, pointing to a previously floated idea of a UK-EU security pact.

Lammy will on Sunday travel to Poland and Sweden, where he will focus discussions on areas including cooperation on NATO and the war in Ukraine, Britain's foreign office said.

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New Orleans Attack Suspect Acted Alone, Supported ISIS, FBI Says

Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
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New Orleans Attack Suspect Acted Alone, Supported ISIS, FBI Says

Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)

A US Army veteran who drove a truck into a crowd of New Year's Day revelers had pledged allegiance to ISIS, but acted alone in the attack that killed at least 14 people, the FBI said on Thursday.

The suspect, who was shot dead at the scene after firing at police, has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texan who once served in Afghanistan.

He drove from Houston to New Orleans on Dec. 31, and posted five videos on Facebook between 1.29 a.m. and 3.02 a.m. on the morning of the attack in which he said he supported ISIS, the extremist militant group with fighters in Iraq and Syria, the FBI said.

In the first video, Jabbar explains he had previously planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that the media coverage would not focus on the "war between the believers and the disbelievers," FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said at a press conference.

Jabbar also said in the videos that he had joined ISIS before last summer and provided his last will and testament, Raia said.

"This was an act of terrorism," Raia said. "It was premeditated and an evil act."

New Orleans officials said the Sugar Bowl college football game that had been scheduled for Wednesday in a New Year's Day tradition would take place on Thursday afternoon. The city will also host the National Football League's Super Bowl next month.

The FBI said there appeared to be no link between the attack in New Orleans and the episode in Las Vegas on the same day in which a Tesla Cybertruck packed with gasoline canisters and large firework mortars exploded in flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20.

The injured victims in the New Orleans attack included two police officers wounded by gunfire from the suspect, taking place a mere three hours into the new year on Bourbon Street in the historic French Quarter. At least 15 people were killed, including the suspect, the FBI said.

Among the victims were the mother of a 4-year-old who had just moved into a new apartment after getting a promotion at work, a New York financial employee and accomplished student-athlete who was visiting home for the holidays, and an 18-year-old aspiring nurse from Mississippi.

Witnesses described a horrifying scene.

"There were people everywhere," Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama, said in an interview. "You just heard this squeal and the rev of the engine and this huge loud impact and then the people screaming and debris - just metal - the sound of crunching metal and bodies."

Meanwhile, authorities in other US cities said they had boosted security, including at Trump Tower and Times Square in New York City, adding that there were no immediate threats.

In Washington, police also said they had increased their presence as the capital prepares to host three major events this month: Congress' Jan. 6 certification of US President-elect Donald Trump's presidential election win, the Jan. 9 state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, and Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.

The FBI said an ISIS flag was found on the trailer hitch of the rented vehicle involved in the New Orleans attack.

US President Joe Biden condemned what he called a "despicable" act.

Public records showed Jabbar worked in real estate in Houston. In a promotional video posted four years ago, Jabbar described himself as born and raised in Beaumont, a city about 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston.

Jabbar was in the regular Army from March 2007 until January 2015 and then in the Army Reserve from January 2015 until July 2020, an Army spokesperson said. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of service.