UK Prime minister, Rishi Sunak has arrived in Israel, commencing a two-day trip to the wider region, amidst mounting concerns about the potential escalation of the conflict involving Hamas.
Upon landing in Tel Aviv, the Prime Minister expressed his eagerness to engage in productive discussions with Israeli leaders, notably Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, BBC report.
During these meetings, Sunak will press for the route into Gaza to be open for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the exit of those trapped in the territory, while expressing his condolences for victims on both side of the war.
“I am in Israel, a nation in grief,” the prime minister said on social media after landing. “I grieve with you and stand with you against the evil that is terrorism. Today and always.”
This visit, following the recent visits by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and U.S. President Joe Biden, signifies a unified stance among Western leaders.
They collectively form the Quint, a diplomatic group composed of the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Italy, which convened shortly after Hamas’s attack on Israel earlier this month.
French President Emmanuel Macron is slated to visit Israel in the coming days as well.
Mr Biden’s visit was overshadowed by a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday.
On Tuesday a huge blast ripped through the al Ahli hospital in Gaza City where hundreds of Palestinians had taken refuge amid an Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s deadly surprise attack on 7 October.
Hamas officials claimed the hospital blast killed hundreds of people and was caused by an Israeli air strike – but the Israeli military blamed a misfiring rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and released imagery and communications intercepts aimed at supporting their case.
Mr Biden said the blast appeared to have been caused by a failed rocket launched by Palestinian militants, backing Israel’s account of the incident.
But Palestinian officials said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said British intelligence services were working to establish who was behind the blast, telling MPs not to “rush to judgment”, Sky news report.
In a later statement, Mr Sunak said: “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.”
The remainder of the Prime Minister’s trip remains uncertain – a swirl of security and diplomatic moving parts means his precise itinerary is in flux.