
Israel-Gaza war fuels record level of anti-Muslim hatred in Britain, monitoring group says
The number of anti-Muslim incidents in Britain rose to a new high in 2024, according to data compiled by monitoring organization Tell MAMA, which said the war in Gaza had 'super-fuelled' online hate.
Tell MAMA said it verified 5,837 anti-Muslim hate cases - a mix of both online and in-person incidents - last year, compared with 3,767 cases the year before and 2,201 in 2022.
The organization's data goes back to 2012 and is compiled using data-sharing agreements with police forces in England and Wales.
'The Middle East conflict super-fuelled online anti-Muslim hate,' the group said in a statement, adding that 'the Israel and Gaza War, the Southport murders and riots ... created a surge in anti-Muslim hate cases reported to Tell MAMA from 2023-2024'.
Its director Iman Atta described the surge as unacceptable and deeply concerning for the future.
Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) describes itself as an independent, non-governmental organization which works on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.
Separate data last week showed levels of hatred towards Jews across Britain have also rocketed to record levels in the wake of the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
The surge in hate incidents against Muslims due to Islamophobia has also been linked to the killing of three young girls in the northern English town of Southport last summer, Tell MAMA said.
False reports spread on social media that the killer, who has since been sentenced to at least 52 years behind bars, was a radical extremist migrant, leading to racist riots involving far-right and anti-immigration groups across the country.
'We urge the public to stand together against hatred and extremism, and we urge those in positions of influence and public authority to consider how their language risks stereotyping communities,' Atta said, calling for coordinated government action to tackle anti-Muslim hate.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party threatens government over draft law
Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party on Monday threatened to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government by backing a motion for early elections amid a row over military service. Netanyahu's coalition, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, is at risk of collapsing over a bill that could reverse the long-standing exemption from the draft for ultra-Orthodox Jews. The exemption is facing growing pushback as Israel wages war on Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu is under pressure from within his Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on draft dodgers -- a red line for Shas. The party is demanding legislation to permanently exempt its followers from military service and gave Netanyahu two days to find a solution. 'We don't want to bring down a right-wing government, but we've reached our limit,' Shas spokesperson Asher Medina told public radio. 'If there's no last-minute solution (on conscription), we'll vote to dissolve the Knesset,' he said, referring to the Israeli parliament. Last week, a Shas source told AFP the party was threatening to quit the coalition unless a solution was reached by Monday. The opposition is seeking to place a bill to dissolve parliament on Wednesday's plenary agenda, hoping to capitalize on the ultra-Orthodox revolt to topple the government. Netanyahu's coalition, formed in December 2022, includes Likud, far-right factions and ultra-Orthodox parties. A walkout by the latter would end its majority. A poll published in March by right-wing daily Israel Hayom found 85 percent of Israeli Jews support changing the conscription law for Haredim. Forty-one percent backed compulsory military service -- currently 32 months for men -- for all eligible members of the community.


Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel ultra-Orthodox party threatens government over draft law
JERUSALEM: Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas party on Monday threatened to bring down Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government by backing a motion for early elections amid a row over military service. Netanyahu's coalition, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, is at risk of collapsing over a bill that could reverse the long-standing exemption from the draft for ultra-Orthodox Jews. The exemption is facing growing pushback as Israel wages war on Palestinian Islamist militants Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu is under pressure from within his Likud party to draft more ultra-Orthodox men and impose penalties on draft dodgers — a red line for Shas. The party is demanding legislation to permanently exempt its followers from military service and gave Netanyahu two days to find a solution. 'We don't want to bring down a right-wing government, but we've reached our limit,' Shas spokesperson Asher Medina told public radio. 'If there's no last-minute solution (on conscription), we'll vote to dissolve the Knesset,' he said, referring to the Israeli parliament. Last week, a Shas source told AFP the party was threatening to quit the coalition unless a solution was reached by Monday. The opposition is seeking to place a bill to dissolve parliament on Wednesday's plenary agenda, hoping to capitalize on the ultra-Orthodox revolt to topple the government. Netanyahu's coalition, formed in December 2022, includes Likud, far-right factions and ultra-Orthodox parties. A walkout by the latter would end its majority. A poll published in March by right-wing daily Israel Hayom found 85 percent of Israeli Jews support changing the conscription law for Haredim. Forty-one percent backed compulsory military service — currently 32 months for men — for all eligible members of the community.

Al Arabiya
10 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel diverts Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
Israel intercepted a Gaza-bound aid boat on Monday morning, preventing the activists onboard, including Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg, from reaching the blockaded Palestinian territory. The Madleen departed from Italy on June 1 aiming to bring awareness to food shortages in Gaza, which the United Nations has called the 'hungriest place on Earth.' After 21 months of war, the UN has warned the territory's entire population is at risk of famine. AFP lost contact with the Madleen early Monday morning. At around 3:02 am CET (0102 GMT), Israeli forces 'forcibly intercepted' the vessel in international waters as it was approaching Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement. 'If you see this video we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters,' Thunberg said in a pre-recorded video shared by the coalition. The Palestinian group Hamas condemned the diversion, saying in a statement the boat was being taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The Israeli government had vowed to prevent the 'unauthorized' ship from breaching the naval blockade of Gaza, urging it to turn back. On Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said the blockade, in place since years before the Israel-Hamas war, was needed to prevent Palestinian militants from importing weapons. After diverting the boat, Israel's foreign ministry posted a picture of the activists all in orange life jackets being offered water and sandwiches. 'All the passengers of the 'selfie yacht' are safe and unharmed,' the ministry wrote on social media, adding that it expected the activists to return to their home countries. 'The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels,' it added. Israel is facing mounting international pressure to allow more aid into Gaza to alleviate widespread shortages of food and basic supplies. It recently allowed humanitarian deliveries to resume after barring them for more than two months and began working with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). But humanitarian agencies have criticized the GHF and the United Nations refuses to work with it, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality. Dozens of people have been killed near GHF distribution points since late May, according to Gaza's civil defense agency. It said Israeli attacks killed at least 10 people on Sunday, including five civilians hit by gunfire near an aid distribution center. 'Risked their lives' for food Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal and witnesses said the civilians had been heading to a site west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Witness Abdallah Nour al-Din told AFP that 'people started gathering in the Al-Alam area of Rafah' in the early morning. 'After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved toward the site and the army opened fire,' he said. The Israeli military said it fired on people who 'continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers' despite warnings. The GHF said in a statement there had been no incidents 'at any of our three sites' on Sunday. Outside Nasser Hospital, where the emergency workers brought the casualties, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over blood-stained body bags. 'I can't see you like this,' said Lin al-Daghma by her father's body. She spoke of the struggle to access food aid after the two-months Israeli blockade, despite the recent easing. At a charity kitchen in Gaza City, displaced Palestinian Umm Ghassan told AFP she had been unable to collect aid from a GHF site 'because there were so many people, and there was a lot of shooting. I was afraid to go in, but there were people who risked their lives for their children and families.' Sinwar Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said it had located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, presumed Hamas leader in Gaza, in an 'underground tunnel route beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis,' in southern Gaza. The military, which until Sunday had not confirmed his death, said Israeli forces killed Sinwar on May 13. Sinwar was the younger brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, accused by Israel of masterminding the 2023 attack that triggered the war. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 54,880 people, the majority civilians, have been killed in the territory since the start of the war. The UN considers these figures reliable. After the deaths of several Hamas leaders, Mohammed Sinwar was thought to be at the heart of decisions on indirect negotiations with Israel. The military said that alongside Sinwar's body, forces had found 'additional intelligence' at the Khan Younis site 'underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room.' Experts said he likely took over as the head of Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, after its leader Mohammed Deif was killed by Israel. The Palestinian group has remained tight-lipped over the names of its top ranks.