British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday stepped up a campaign by Western leaders to strengthen support for Israel in the wake of Hamas attacks by urging Israel to permit more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Following visits this week from US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Sunak expressed his strong support for Israeli action following the October 7 raids in which at least 1,400 people died and more than 200 people were taken hostage.
However, he added that it was crucial to get food, water, and medicine to the 2 million people living in the blockaded Gaza Strip after talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.
After speaking with Biden, Netanyahu decided on Wednesday to permit aid to pass through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which serves as Gaza’s only port of entry to the outside world.
Israel has vowed to prevent any supplies from getting to Hamas, though.
The Rafah crossing was shut down again on Thursday.
After their discussions with the British prime minister, neither Herzog nor Netanyahu mentioned aid in their remarks.
But Sunak said “it’s important that we continue to provide humanitarian access” and “protect civilian life”, as he welcomed the Israeli move.
He disclosed that Britain has increased its aid to the Palestinian territories “and we are keen to see that that gets to those who need it”.
“I very much welcome the progress that we’ve made on that,” he added.
Downing Street said in a statement that with Herzog, Sunak “expressed his sincere hope that further progress could be made on delivering crucial food, water and medicine”.
However, Sunak, along with the other leaders, strongly endorsed Israel’s action against Hamas in the wake of what he described as a “horrific” attack.
Netanyahu demanded sustained international assistance and predicted a “long war” with Hamas.
“I’ve never seen the people of Israel as united — more united — than they are now. But we need unity across the board and continued support as we prosecute and win this just war,” he added.
According to his spokesperson, Sunak took off for Saudi Arabia, where he was scheduled to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later on Thursday.
The discussions would cover how to secure the release of Hamas hostages as well as efforts to preserve regional stability and get aid into Gaza.
According to the government, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is traveling in parallel to Egypt, Turkey, and Qatar.
