A video of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling on Hamas to return “the sausages” as he urged a peaceful solution to the Gaza war with Israel went viral on Tuesday. Starmer’s slip of the tongue came while he was speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, northwest England, as he meant to say “hostages”.

Having first called for “restraint and de-escalation at the border between Lebanon and Israel”, Starmer moved on to the Gaza conflict.

“I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the sausages,” he said, before quickly correcting himself with “the hostages” as applause rang out around the conference hall.

🚨 NEW: Keir Starmer calls for the ‘return of the sausages’ in Gaza, before correcting to ‘hostages’pic.twitter.com/T71PHGKh6m

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) September 24, 2024

“And a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel,” he continued.

Almost as soon as the words had left Starmer’s mouth, the video went viral on X and by Tuesday evening it was the second most shared content.

British media were quick to jump on Starmer’s mistake, with the left-wing Guardian calling it a “gaffe” and the right-wing Daily Mail noting a “faux-pas”.

Starmer was referring to the nearly year-long war that broke out after the attack by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7 last year and the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza that followed.

Recent escalation has seen Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah move to the brink of all-out war.

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