Israel-Gaza latest: Rishi Sunak in Tel Aviv to show ‘solidarity’ over Hamas attacks
Rishi Sunak has arrived in Israel to “express solidarity” with the country over Hamas’s attack as part of a two-day trip urging against any escalation of violence in the wider Middle East.
The Prime Minister landed at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv on Thursday morning ahead of holding talks with his counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“Above all, I’m here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people,” Sunak told journalists.
“You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you.”
As part of the trip, he will urge Middle East leaders to “avoid further dangerous escalation”, saying that “too many lives have been lost” already in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
No 10 said he plans to meet a number of leaders in the region, press for aid to be allowed into Gaza and for those “trapped in the territory” to be allowed to leave the enclave.
And he will call for the “barbaric” acts carried out by the Palestinian militant group not to “become a catalyst for further escalation of conflict in the region”.
The visit comes after the US President Joe Biden flew into Israel on Wednesday in a diplomatic effort to prevent fighting from spiralling into a larger crisis.
Biden urged Israel not to be “consumed by” rage in the wake of Hamas’s deadly attack on October 7 and to avoid making the same “mistakes” that the US did after 9/11.
His trip appeared to mark a breakthrough, with Israel announcing it had approved Biden’s request to allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
The first crack in a punishing 10-day siege on the territory came a day after a deadly blast at a Gaza City hospital killed hundreds.
Hamas blamed Israel for the strike, while Tel Aviv pointed the finger at a rocket misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza – who have also dismissed the claim.
Security minister Tom Tugendhat said this morning that British intelligence services are still establishing the facts surrounding the blast and warned against “premature speculation”.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will also visit Egypt, Turkey and Qatar in the coming days to underscore the UK’s message and said he would “push for calm and stability”.
Cleverly said: “It is in no one’s interests — neither Israeli, Palestinian nor the wider Middle East — for others to be drawn into this conflict.
Press Association — Nina Lloyd