Boris Johnson has urged Western leaders to stay the course in their support for Israel, and not forget the Hamas "Orgy of brutality and Violence" on October 7.
The former Prime Minister was speaking exclusively to GB News after he toured some of the areas devastated by last month's terror attack, which left more than 1,400 people dead and at least 240 others taken hostage.
At an aid centre in Tel Aviv, Johnson was still visibly shocked by what he saw in some of Israel's southern communities, which he visited alongside the former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
He said that it was "very important" to travel to Israel to see for himself what happened and listen to the stories of survivors and those who came to their rescue.
Boris Johnson speaking to GB News in Israel
GB News
"I worry, even in the UK, the memory of that horror is fading.
"People do not understand how appalling Hamas' crimes were. We need to stop this crazy moral equivalence.
"Look at what happened. Remember this is sadism, an orgy of brutality and torture."
Johnson, who was widely seen as leading the international charge to support Ukraine when he was Prime Minister, said there was a clear difference between what Hamas did and what Israeli soldiers are now doing in Gaza.
"Israel is trying to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Everyone wants peace, but Israel needs time and space to track down who did this and make sure it never happens again."
The growing toll on Gaza's civilian population has brought increasing calls for Israel to call a ceasefire. Even Israel's allies, including the U.S. And UK are urging Israel to agree to 'humanitarian pauses'.
But Boris Johnson said: "Israel is in a morally different catergory to Hamas. Hamas want fear and torture in maximum numbers. Israel is trying to do the opposite, minimum casualties.
"They're going to take a long time to do this, and they won't be able to do this overnight."
Asked about whether the BBC's refusal to call Hamas a terrorist organisation could encourage people to legitimise the group and view them as freedom fighters, Johnson said: "Those making the decisions not to call Hamas terrorists should visit the region and they will see how Hamas have used human terror for political gain. Which is not what Israel is doing.
"Millions of people around the world are cutting Hamas slack. People need to realise when they chant these hate filled slogans against Israel, they are giving support to the crazed racist violence that we saw on October 7."
The former Prime Minister also criticised the BBC
GB NEWS
The former Prime Minister did not call for the planned pro-Palestinian marches planned for next weekend's remembrance commemorations to be banned. He said the decision on whether to ban the marches was one for the police to make.
But he added: "Remembrance weekend is there to commemorate people in our country who fought against Nazism and Fascism."
Looking to the longer term, Boris Johnson said he still wanted to see a two-state solution for Palestine. But that is still some way off, he said.
"It is not reasonable to expect Israelis to have an armed state on their doorstep run by Hamas. For the time being, the focus has got to be taking the necessary steps to ensure this can never happen again."
