Amid the Israel-Palestine conflict intensifying, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrived in Israel and held talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Sunak said that Israel has lived through the "spectre of violence and terrorism for everyday of its existence". Sunak's visit comes after US's Joe Biden visited Israel on Wednesday.
UK extended its unequivocal support to Israel and said that Israelites has the right to defend itself in line with international law. “Israel has the right to go after Hamas...Israel is taking every precaution to avoid harming civilians in direct contrast to the terrorists of Hamas which seek to put civilians in harm’s way.”
Sunak also stressed the need for humanitarian aid in talks with Israeli President.
"Palestinians are victims of what Hamas has done. It's important that we continue to provide humanitarian access," said UK PM.
PM Sunak expressed his personal condolences for the horrific loss of life in Israel as a result of Hamas's terrorism.
While speaking in Tel Aviv, Sunak told Netanyahu that Britain "will stand with you in solidarity, we stand with your people. And we also want you to win."
"The prime minister and President Herzog agreed on the importance of getting urgent humanitarian support to ordinary Palestinians in Gaza who are also suffering. The prime minister welcomed yesterday’s announcement that Israel would not stop aid from entering Gaza. He expressed his sincere hope that further progress could be made on delivering crucial food, water and medicine,” the statement of the meeting was readout by a Downing Street spokesperson.
Meanwhile, aid agencies and charity workers have been stressing the need for stepping up the humanitarian crisis in the region. Severe public health crisis is looming Israel. Health experts has raised concern over infectious diseases and diarrhoeal infection spreading among citizens in Gaza.
"Faced with this impossible situation, many Gazan families are resorting to non-drinking water sources, such as agricultural wells. This puts them at imminent risk of dehydration and even an outbreak of infectious diseases such as cholera. Such an epidemic, if it happens, would make this serious crisis an even bigger problem," said Chiara Saccardi, officer for the Middle East at Action Against Hunger.
Also, Gazans recounted the horrors of the war since the Hamas attack. Rafat Al-Nakhala, who had sought shelter in south of Gaza, said it was the brutal attack he has seen so far.
"I’m over 70 years old, I’ve lived through several wars, it’s never been like this, it has never been this brutal, no religion and no conscience. Thank God. We only have hope in God, not in any Arab or Muslim country or anyone in the world, except for God," Nakhala was quoted by Guardian.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are still ongoing to end the Israel-Hamas war. King Abdullah II of Jordan is on his way to Egypt to discuss ways to end "the Israeli aggression on Gaza".
Meanwhile, German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, slammed Russia's president Vladimir Putin for lamenting the fate of civilians in the Israel-Hamas conflict while his army wages war in Ukraine.
"It makes me more than furious to hear the Russian president repeatedly warning that there could be civilian casualties from an armed conflict. It doesn’t get more cynical than that," Scholz told German Parliament on Thursday.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 3,700 people have died so far since the Hamas attack.