LONDON: At least 12 British nationals were killed in the terror attack by Hamas on Israel, while five more are still missing, Jerusalem Post reported citing a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Earlier on Monday, PM Sunak also strongly voiced against “antisemitism” in the country after a series of pro-Palestine protests in the UK.
“This weekend we saw hate on our streets. Calls for Jihad are not only a threat to the Jewish community but to our democratic values. We will never tolerate antisemitism in our country. And we expect the police to take all necessary action to tackle extremism head-on,” Sunak posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Last week, Rishi Sunak visited Israel after the October 7 attacks by Hamas and affirmed UK’s support towards Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law and to fight against Hamas.
Sunak said he was “sorry” to visit Israel in “such terrible circumstances”. He said: “In the last two weeks, this country has gone through something that no country, no people should have to endure, least of all Israel…”
“I want to share the deep condolences of the British people and stress that we absolutely support Israel’s right to defend itself in line with international law, to go after Hamas…We also recognise that the Palestinian people are victims of Hamas too,” the British PM said while delivering a joint statement alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu post their private meeting at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.
During his visit, Sunak also met Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
Other than Sunak, other Western leaders like US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte have already visited Israel since the war began. (ANI)