United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Israel on Thursday, when he held diplomatic talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and condemned Hamas, a terrorist group that governs Gaza, for their ruthless assault on Oct. 7, when they slaughtered more than 1,400 Israelis in a single day.<\/p>\n
Sunak\u2019s visit came on the 13th day of Israel\u2019s war with Hamas, and he minced no words in describing the terror group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018First and foremost, I want to express my solidarity with you and your country after you have suffered something unspeakable, a barbaric act of terrorism, as you said, we should call it what it is: an act of terrorism perpetrated by an evil terrorist organization, Hamas.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018We will stand with Israel, we will stand with you in solidarity with your people and your right to defend yourself, to bring security back to your country, to your people, to ensure the safe return of the hostages that have been taken,\u2019 Sunak said. \u2018Because that\u2019s the right thing to do. You have not just a right to do that, I think you have a duty to do that, to restore that security to your country. But I\u2019m also grateful to you for the support that the Israeli government has provided to the families and British nationals who have been caught up in this tragedy.\u2019<\/p>\n
The unequivocal moral distinction comes as some U.S. lawmakers, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., repeated a debunked claim that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were responsible for an explosion that struck a Gaza hospital, reportedly killing hundreds of civilians. On Wednesday, Tlaib also accused the Biden administration of funding a \u2018genocide\u2019 against Palestinians.<\/p>\n
Sunak said the U.K. supported Israel\u2019s right to defend itself against the Hamas terrorists and urged the swift return of Israeli hostages.<\/p>\n
He added, \u2018I very much appreciate that and I know we will continue to cooperate closely and support your efforts to ensure the safe return of all the hostages.\u2019<\/p>\n
The U.K. prime minister also expressed a need for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m glad that you and I have had a chance to discuss the need for humanitarian access. Palestinians are victims of what Hamas has done,\u2019 he continued. \u2018And it\u2019s important that we continue to provide humanitarian access. I welcomed the announcement yesterday \u2013 the U.K. has announced further aid that we\u2019re prepared to bring into the region.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018And we\u2019re keen to see that that gets to those who need it. I very much welcome the progress that we\u2019ve made on that. The relationship between our two countries has always been strong. But I want you to know at this particular moment, you don\u2019t just have our friendship, you have all solidarity with you,\u2019 he concluded.<\/p>\n
President Herzog also spoke Thursday, saying he was \u2018extremely grateful\u2019 for Sunak\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n
\u2018You\u2019ve come to visit Israel in our darkest hour, but we will overcome and prevail and it will be our finest hour. Mr. Prime Minister, you will see here in Israel the way our nation has risen following the horrendous attack, following the shock and the trauma, with enormous pain that we are carrying with us on an hourly basis,\u2019 he said. \u2018Every hour another story, another story and another story of shocking stories, shocking \u2013 people being burned and tied up in barbed wire, you can only think about a family just before they are totally murdered, and heads cut off, all the things that you\u2019ve been hearing.\u2019<\/p>\n
Herzog also said Israel was facing \u2018a test,\u2019 and went on to say, \u2018We are seeing ISIS on our border, entering into our country. And it\u2019s an empire of evil, which we know is led from Tehran. It\u2019s a coalition of evil led from Tehran, which has its forks in Lebanon, which has left havoc in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq. This is the real international interest, the security interest of all the nations of Europe, and this is how we feel and see this moment.\u2019<\/p>\n
The visit comes a day after President Biden landed in Tel Aviv, where he met with Herzog, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.<\/p>\n