Rishi Sunak's 'stand with you' message as UK PM arrives in Israel amid Gaza war
“I am in Israel, a nation in grief,” Sunak wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday arrived in Israel to discuss the country's war with Hamas. His visit comes a day after US President Joe Biden met Israel's top leadership in Tel Aviv.
“I am in Israel, a nation in grief,” Sunak wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I grieve with you and stand with you against the evil that is terrorism. Today, and always.” Follow Israel-Hamas war LIVE updates here.
Ahead of his visit, Sunak's office said that the prime minister will share his condolences for the loss of life in Israel and in Palestine and warn against further escalation.
He will also urge the opening up of a route to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza from Egypt “as soon as possible” and to ensure that British nationals there are able to leave.
Sunak had said that the attack on the hospital in Gaza was a “watershed a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict".
At least 500 people were killed in a strike on Gaza’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital, often called the Baptist Hospital, on Tuesday night. Palestinian officials blamed the explosion on one of the many Israeli bombs dropped on Gaza since it announced war against Hamas.
On its part, Israel denied any role behind the strike and claimed that the blast was caused by a misfired rocket shot by Hamas militants towards their country. The United States has also backed Israel's claim saying that intelligence shows that Tel Aviv was not to blame for the strike.
