Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, landed in Israel on Thursday, a Reuters witness said, starting a visit in which he will meet Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, and Isaac Herzog, the President of Israel, before traveling on to other regional capitals.
Sunak will share his condolences for the loss of life in Israel and Gaza as an outcome of the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant Hamas, his office said and warn against further escalation of conflict in the region.
Ahead of his visit, Sunak said in a statement, “Every civilian death is a tragedy. And too many lives have been lost following Hamas’ horrific act of terror.”
He said that a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday which killed hundreds of Palestinians should be “a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict”, vowing Britain would be at “the forefront of this effort”.
Sunak will also urge the opening up of a course to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza from Egypt as soon as possible and to allow British nationals trapped in Gaza to leave.
Sunak’s spokesperson said on Wednesday that at least seven UK nationals have been killed and at least nine are missing since the attack on Israel by Gaza-based Hamas.
