Rishi Sunak to visit Israel as UK probes hospital blast

The prime minister will meet the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Isaac Herzog following US President Joe Biden’s visit on Wednesday in a diplomatic bid to prevent fighting from spiralling into a larger crisis.

He will press for the route into Gaza to be opened as soon as possible to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and the exit of those trapped in the territory, No 10 said.

The visit will be part of a trip to the wider region during which the Prime Minister will also travel to a number of capitals to meet counterparts.

Ahead of his trip, the Prime Minister 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.”

There had been reports earlier this week that Mr Sunak was planning a visit to Israel but he would not confirm them up until Wednesday evening.

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

Mr Cleverly said: “It is in no one’s interests – neither Israeli, Palestinian nor the wider Middle East – for others to be drawn into this conflict.

“I am meeting counterparts from influential states in the region to push for calm and stability, facilitate humanitarian access into Gaza and work together to secure the release of hostages.”

Israel said yesterday it will allow Egypt to deliver limited quantities of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip amid its siege following surprise attacks by Hamas on October 7.

It came as Palestinians reeled from a massive blast at a Gaza City hospital that killed hundreds and as civilians grew increasingly desperate as food and water supplies ran out.

There were conflicting claims of who was responsible for the explosion, with Hamas officials quickly blaming it on an Israeli air strike.

Israel denied involvement and said the blast was instead due to a rocket misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza. Islamic Jihad dismissed the claim.

​British intelligence is working rapidly to independently establish who was behind the hospital blast, Mr Sunak has said.

He urged MPs not to “rush to judgment” yesterday about the atrocity feared to have killed at least 500 at al Ahli.

Mr Sunak told the House of Commons that he was unable to reveal the UK verdict after holding talks with the national security adviser and the Joint Intelligence Committee.

“We should not rush to judgment before we have all the facts on this awful situation,” he told Prime Minister's Questions.

“Every member will know that the words we say here have an impact beyond the House.

“Our intelligence services have been rapidly analysing the evidence to independently establish the facts. We are not in a position at this point to say more than that.”

Mr Sunak declined to back calls from more than 40 MPs for a ceasefire so that the release of hostages could be secured, international law could be upheld and medical supplies, food, fuel, electricity and water could be given to the Palestinian people.

Instead he said that Israel had a “right to defend itself, to protect its people and to act against terrorism and ensure that the awful attack we've seen from Hamas cannot happen again”.

Mr Sunak said the UK was continuing to press to get humanitarian aid into Gaza and was “working around the clock” to free the hostages taken by Hamas. He was meeting yesterday with the family of one of those captured.

At least seven British nationals, including 13-year-old Yahel Sharabi, were killed in the terrorist group's atrocity in Israel on October 7.

Downing Street said that nine UK nationals remain missing, with some of those feared dead, while others could be among the hostages.

The prime minister's official spokesman said Mr Sunak does not think it is the right time for a ceasefire, as Israel is working to “recover hostages who have been seized by a terrorist organisation”.