Rishi Sunak has said he stands and grieves with Israel after arriving in Tel Aviv for a two-day visit to the Middle East where he will call for any spread in the violence in the war to be avoided, writes The Independent.

The prime minister will hold talks with his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and president Isaac Herzog as he starts the trip which is expected to take in other capitals in the region. He will urge Middle East leaders to “avoid further dangerous escalation”, saying that “too many lives have been lost” already since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel killed more than 1,400 people.

Mr Sunak said he stands with Israel against “evil” as he arrived in the country for talks. In a post on X, he said: “I am in Israel, a nation in grief. I grieve with you and stand with you against the evil that is terrorism. Today, and always”.

The PM also told reporters as he landed: “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”.

His visit comes after US president Joe Biden flew into Israel on Wednesday – backing Israel by saying that the “other team” were behind the explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital.