PM arrives in Israel to ‘express solidarity’ over October 7 Hamas attacks

The Prime Minister has arrived in Israel to “express solidarity” with the country over Hamas’s October 7 attack as part of a two-day trip calling for any escalation of violence in the wider region to be avoided.

In a meeting with President Isaac Herzog, Rishi Sunak said the country has “not just a right” but a “duty” to restore its security.

After landing at Ben Gurion airport, Mr Sunak told reporters on the ground: “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.”

As part of the two-day 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.

The visit comes after the US president flew into Israel on Wednesday in a diplomatic bid to prevent fighting from spiralling into a larger crisis.

Joe Biden urged Israel not to be “consumed by” rage in the wake of Hamas’s deadly incursion on October 7 and to avoid making the same “mistakes” that the US did after September 11 2001, following the Islamist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The president’s trip appeared to mark a breakthrough, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announcing it had approved a 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 is understood to have killed hundreds.

In a readout of Mr Sunak’s meeting with President Herzog, No 10 said the two leaders had “agreed on the importance of getting urgent humanitarian support to ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who are also suffering.”

“The Prime Minister and President Herzog stressed the imperative need to avoid further escalation of violence in the region. They agreed to continue working together to that end,” the statement said.

Mr Sunak told the head of state that Israel has “not just a right” but a “duty” to restore security to the country, while the president thanked the PM for “your support and your decisions and your leadership”.

He will travel to Saudi Arabia following his meeting with Mr Netanyahu, before an expected return to the UK on Friday, Downing Street said.

Hamas has blamed Israel for the hospital strike, while Tel Aviv pointed the finger at a rocket misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza. Islamic Jihad has dismissed the claim.

Every civilian death is a tragedy

Appearing on Thursday’s morning media round, security minister Tom Tugendhat said British intelligence services are still working to establish the facts surrounding the blast.

He accused some of engaging in “irresponsible speculation” which he said had led to Arab leaders calling off planned talks with the US president.

“The reason we’re going to be so careful about this is that the premature speculation comes at a cost,” he told Times Radio.

“It now appears that that was at best speculation and at worst propaganda by a terrorist organisation.”

Mr Tugendhat said he would not “name names” over whom in particular he thought was responsible for the speculation but pointed to commentary on social media platforms.

The minister said he would not “give a legal opinion” on whether cutting off the water supply to Gaza, as Israel had done, was within the rule of law.

But he said Hamas was ultimately to blame for the shortages as it has stolen aid from the Palestinian people and profited from their misery.

The hospital deaths sparked protests across the Middle East, including angry scenes in Jordan and in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where hundreds of demonstrators clashed with security forces near the US embassy on Wednesday.

The Hezbollah group, a key ally of Hamas, also held a rally in the city.

The Foreign Office has since updated its travel guidance to Lebanon, which shares a border with Israel, advising against all travel to the country and encouraging British nationals currently there to “leave now while commercial options remain available”.

During the Prime Minister’s trip to the Middle East, in which he is expected to meet a number of counterparts, No 10 said he plans to press for aid to be allowed into Gaza and for those “trapped in the territory” to be allowed to leave the 25-mile area.

He will call for the “barbaric” acts carried out by the Hamas not to “become a catalyst for further escalation of conflict in the region”.

The 2,200-mile trip means Mr Sunak will not be in the UK when the results of Thursday’s Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire by-election contests are announced in the early hours of Friday, with the Conservatives battling to hold on to what were once regarded as safe seats.

In parallel with Mr Sunak’s travel, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will visit Egypt, Turkey and Qatar in the coming days to underline the UK’s message.

Since the flare-up of violence in Israel and Gaza, the Community Security Trust, a Jewish charity, and police have recorded a steep rise in antisemitism in the UK.

Robin Simcox, the commissioner for countering extremism, said the increase is a sign that Britain is “very sick indeed” and should be a “wake-up call”.

In an article for The Times, he suggested the “normalisation” of anti-Israel extremism and antisemitism is because of a “failed policy mix of mass migration and multiculturalism”.

Mr Tugendhat disputed the argument that the UK has become a “permissive environment” for such sentiments, saying threats to all communities are treated “extremely seriously”.

He drew a distinction between “perfectly legitimate” support for Palestine and the promotion of Hamas, a proscribed terrorist group in the UK, which he said should result in arrests.