Rishi Sunak has arrived in Israel for talks with its leaders, and will later travel to other countries in the region for further discussions, Downing Street has announced.
The prime minister left London on Wednesday evening, and was scheduled to hold talks on Thursday with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the country’s president, Isaac Herzog.
No 10 said Sunak would then travel “to a number of other regional capitals”, details of which have not been released for security reasons, and because of the fast-changing situation in the region.
“Above all, I’m here to express my solidarity with the Israeli people. You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you,” Sunak told Israeli reporters after landing.
He arrived a day after Joe Biden met Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. The US president had been due to then meet Arab leaders in Jordan, but this was cancelled after the devastating blast at the al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, which caused hundreds of casualties.
Speaking on Wednesday in parliament, Sunak said British intelligence was working to uncover the cause of the blast. The Israeli military has produced evidence that it said showed the explosion was the result of a rocket launched by the militant group Islamic Jihad misfiring. The group has denied responsibility.
Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel would allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Downing Street said Sunak would push for that to happen “as soon as possible”, and to allow UK nationals trapped in Gaza to leave.
In remarks released before the trip, Sunak said: “Every civilian death is a tragedy. And too many lives have been lost following Hamas’s horrific act of terror.
“The attack on al-Ahli hospital should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict. I will ensure the UK is at the forefront of this effort.”
Sunak is not taking any UK media with him, but is expected to speak to reporters in the region. He will return to the UK on Friday afternoon.
Separately, the UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, will visit Egypt, Turkey and Qatar. Answering an urgent question on the hospital blast in the Commons on Wednesday, Cleverly echoed Sunak in urging people not to rush to judgment, saying this would only fuel instability in the Middle East and risk shattering community cohesion in the UK. (Guardian)
