UK Islamophobic hate crimes surge after Southport attack, Gaza war

LONDON

Data from UK police forces has revealed sharp increases in Islamophobic hate crimes following the July 2024 Southport stabbings and the Oct. 2023 launch of Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Data obtained by the British media through Freedom of Information requests highlights steep increases in Islamophobic incidents in Manchester, West Yorkshire, London, and on the UK’s transport network.

Greater Manchester Police recorded an average of 35 Islamophobic offenses per month in 2023.

This rose to 85 in August 2024, the month following the Southport tragedy, in which three young girls—six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar—were fatally attacked at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

While the monthly average fell to 21 in September, it remained well above usual levels.

In West Yorkshire, Islamophobic incidents averaged 33 per month in 2023, climbing to 94 in August and 73 in September 2024 after the stabbings.

This increase followed similar trends recorded in the wake of the October 2023 Hamas-Israel conflict, which saw a rise in hate crimes across multiple regions.

The British Transport Police also observed a significant rise in Islamophobic hate crimes.

Monthly Islamophobic offenses, which were usually under 20, spiked to 42 in November 2023, shortly after the conflict began, and again to 29 in August 2024, following the Southport killings.

Greater Manchester Police, which recorded an average of 13 antisemitic offenses per month from January to September 2023, saw a sharp surge to 85 in October and 68 in November following the escalation of violence in the Middle East.

British Transport Police reported monthly antisemitic offenses, averaging seven from January to September 2023, which surged to 60 in October and 70 in November.

Israel launched a large-scale ground offensive in northern Gaza on Oct. 5, claiming to prevent the Palestinian group Hamas from regrouping. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Since then, no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, has been allowed into the area, putting the remaining population at risk of famine.

Israel has killed nearly 45,500 people in Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border attack by Hamas, reducing the enclave to rubble.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.