'I can't describe in words the horrors I saw': UK parliamentarians in shock after viewing footage of Hamas massacre

More than 70 members of the British parliament from both houses viewed a screening of the footage of the horrific atrocities committed by the Hamas terror group during the Oct. 7 massacre, when more than 1,200 people were killed and another 240 taken hostage into Gaza.

The screening was organized by Israel’s embassy in London in cooperation with the Britain-Israel Parliamentary Group (APPG).

Those in attendance represented a relatively small minority in the British parliament, considering the House of Commons has 650 members and the House of Lords currently has 784.

In addition to many members of parliament from the Conservative party, senior officials from the Labor party, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, the leader of the Scottish SNP party, and others, attended the screening.

According to reports, the parliamentarians were in shock after watching the 43-minute film.

“The horrors cannot be described in words – but it will stay with me for the rest of my life,” senior Labor Party lawmaker Preet Gill tweeted on X, formerly Twitter, after viewing the film on Wednesday.

Israel has deliberately screened the footage of the atrocities to global lawmakers, journalists and others after being faced with a wave of denial regarding the events that took place on Oct. 7, reminiscent of Holocaust denial.

The reactions to Gill’s tweet proved the point, with X-users telling the senior lawmaker that viewing the footage makes her a traitor to the Palestinian cause.

“I have spoken up for Palestinians not just now but for years! The moment I speak up for Israelis, the haters are out? Focus on peace and the path to achieve it!” Gill responded.

Many parliamentarians remained seated after the end of the screening, unable to move.

“It's horrible to witness what happened. The barbarism, the cruelty, the attempt to kill as many people as possible. The screening actually brought home to us the cruelty of Hamas in this terrible attack,” said Conservative Party member Bob Blackman.

He went on to say that what he had seen has to be shown to anyone trying to deny that the massacre happened.

“The burned bodies, and also those who were burned alive – this is real terrorism. We must make sure that this evidence is available and presented to anyone who tries to deny what happened. This was a real attempt to eliminate the Jewish population in southern Israel,” Blackman said.

Gill said the celebrations of the murders had been “very difficult” to watch.

"What I saw was extremely difficult. People were busy with their personal affairs, when suddenly they were slaughtered and murdered in cold blood in front of their families. I can't describe in words the horrors I saw, but it will stay with me for the rest of my life. Also, the glorification of the murder – and the celebrations following it – were very difficult to watch."

Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK, Oren Marmorstein, noted that it is Israel’s duty to show the atrocities to anyone denying them.

“When we witness the denial of the horrible events of October 7, it is our duty to all testify about the brutal crimes committed by the terrorist organization Hamas. This is not a war for land, this is a war for humanity,” he said.