Rachel Riley condemns ‘hideous’ and ‘unthinkable’ Israel-Hamas war

Riley said events like Women of the Year, which celebrate “every woman from every background” shows that people from very different backgrounds “can get on in harmony”.

Rachel Riley says it’s difficult to witness the “hideous” Israel-Hamas war because – as a mother – her own children remind her of what’s happening to families trapped inside the conflict.

The Countdown star, who has two young daughters, told Sky News the events were “unthinkable,” and her thoughts were with all the families “going through this most horrendous of times”.

An unprecedented attack by Hamas on 7 October killed at least 1,400 Israelis, and retaliatory air strikes in Gaza by the Israeli military have killed more than 2,800 Palestinians.

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Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are now facing dwindling food and water supplies, humanitarian aid unable to pass the Egyptian border, while the fate of 199 hostages being held in Gaza remains unknown.

Speaking at the Women Of The Year Awards, which celebrates inspirational women in education and technology, Riley said: “We can’t as civilised people condone acts of terrorism. It’s 2023.

“When we say never again, we mean never again. We don’t expect people to turn up in jackboots and swastikas. We mustn’t accept terrorism wherever it comes from. My heart breaks for all the families in the world, who are subject to horrible politics and extremism.

“I found myself driving in the car the other day, and my children were in the back of the car and they were screaming and crying because one of them had a plastic plane and the other one wanted it.

“And I literally just stopped and had this moment of peace and happiness. But my children were screaming about a plastic plane. [The situation in Gaza] is unthinkable.”