Rishi Sunak says Israel has an ‘absolute right to defend itself’ against Hamas attack
Rishi Sunak has said Israel has an “absolute right to defend itself” after thousands of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip in a surprise attack by the Hamas militant group.
The prime minister was joined by a number of UK politicians in condemning the attack, which began in the early hours of Saturday.
At least 100 Israelis have been killed in the attacks by Hamas, prompting the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to declare that his country was “at war”.
Palestinian authorities said 198 people have been killed and 1,600 wounded in Gaza after Israeli forces retaliated to the attack.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mr Sunak said he was “shocked by this morning’s attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli citizens”.
“Israel has an absolute right to defend itself,” he said.
Read more: 98 killed in Gaza as Israel responds to Hamas attack – latest updates
“We’re in contact with Israeli authorities, and British nationals in Israel should follow travel advice.”
His words were echoed by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who said the UK the “unequivocally condemns the horrific attacks by Hamas on Israeli civilians”.
He added: “The UK will always support Israel’s right to defend itself.”
‘Deeply alarming’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer condemned the attacks and said there was “no justification for this act of terror which is being perpetrated by those who seek to undermine any chance for future peace in the region”.
“Israel has a right to defend herself.”
Sir Keir’s predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, said called the ongoing conflict “deeply alarming”.
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Israelis taken hostage says Hamas after video shared online.
“We need an immediate ceasefire and urgent de-escalation,” he said.
“And we need a route out of this tragic cycle of violence: ending the occupation is the only means of achieving a just and lasting peace.”
In response, security minister Tom Tugendhat made reference to Mr Corbyn’s previous description of Hamas as “friends” – a comment he later said he regretted.
“Your ‘friends’ Hamas are murdering children and taking civilian hostages,” Mr Tugendhat posted.
“Haven’t you said enough?”
Mr Netanyahu said Hamas would “pay a price that it hasn’t known until now” as he ordered up a call of reservists.
Israel has blockaded Gaza since the Islamic militant group gained control of the territory in 2007 and the two have fought wars ever since.
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Video seems to show Hamas paragliding over border
In a televised address, Mr Netanyahu made his first remarks since the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers launched a major, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak on Saturday.
“We are at war,” Mr Netanyahu said. “Not an ‘operation’, not a ’round’, but at war.”
The prime minister also ordered the military to clear the infiltrated towns of Hamas militants that remained locked in gunfights with Israeli soldiers.
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Hamas launched its attacks on Simchat Torah, deploying dozens of soldiers to the country’s heavily fortified border on Saturday.
Retaliating to the incursion, the Israeli air force confirmed dozens of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fighter jets struck a number of Hamas military compounds and operational command centres in the Gaza Strip.
Palestine’s President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian people had the right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation of troops”.
The scale of injuries, combined with the number of fatalities so far, makes the attack the deadliest in Israeli territory in years.
The IDF warned “the Hamas terror group will pay a very heavy price” saying it was launching a “large-scale operation” called “Swords of Iron” in response to the combined rocket and infantry attack.
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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