UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is going to land in the early morning of October 19 in Israel for two days to hold meetings with Israeli PM Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog. He will later head to “a number of other regional capitals," reported HT.
Sunak's visit follows those of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on October 17 and US President Joe Biden on October 18. French President Emmanuel Macron said he will also travel to the region “as soon as I consider that we have a useful agenda and very concrete actions to drive forward.”
Sunak's visit is part of a procession of foreign leaders who have made an initiative to prevent Israel-Hamas war from widening. Sunak's office didn’t reveal what other countries would be on his itinerary.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is planning to send around 20 truckloads of aid into the Gaza Strip said Biden. Israeli government allowed humanitarian aid into southern Gaza from Egypt only as long as none of it will be diverted to Hamas militant group.
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During a refuelling stop in Germany on October 18 while aboard Air Force One, Biden said Sisi had assured him on a phone conversation following his visit to Israel. Earlier, Biden announced $100 million in US humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza and the West Bank. He also said he would urge Congress for “unprecedented support” for Israel as it prepares to crush Hamas, Evidence by the Pentagon suggested Israel was not responsible for the blast at a Gaza City hospital on the night of October 17, Biden informed.
According to White House statement on October 18, Biden will deliver a speech from the Oval Office on the night of October 19 “to discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel. He would also address Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,”
In order to normalise ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia Biden’s nominee for ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew informed a Senate panel October 19 that he would advance pre-war negotiations.
Biden said he was planning to undertake a supplemental request to Congress of about $100 billion which would include defence assistance for Israel and Ukraine alongside border security funding and aid to nations in the Indo-Pacific including Taiwan, according to sources, when he was returning to Washington following his visit to Israel.
The United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution regarding the conflict, a resolution that was originally submitted by Brazil. In the vote, the United Kingdom and Russia abstained, while the remaining 12 members of the Security Council approved the resolution.
The proposal aimed to establish "humanitarian pauses" to facilitate the delivery of aid to Gaza. It also condemned the attacks by Hamas and categorising the group as "terrorists." The resolution called for the immediate release of civilian hostages, as outlined by Brazilian officials, reported HT.
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