British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walks after landing at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, Near Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 19, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

Israel targeted Hamas in Gaza with more air strikes on Thursday, as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak followed US President Joe Biden on visits to demonstrate support for the war against the Palestinian terror group while urging Israel to ease the plight of besieged Gazans.

Sunak, who landed in Tel Aviv hours after Biden left, borrowed a phrase associated with Winston Churchill, promising to stand by Israel “in its darkest hour” following the Oct. 7 rampage by Hamas terrorists who killed 1,400 Israelis.

“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,” Sunak told Israeli reporters after landing.

Later appearing beside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said: “I know that you are taking every precaution to avoid harming civilians in direct contrast to the terrorists of Hamas which seeks to put civilians in harm’s way.”

Biden flew home on Wednesday night after an eight-hour trip having pledged to stand with Israel but having only limited success in his other mission, to persuade Israel to ease the plight of Gazans under siege.

Israel has urged Gazans to evacuate southward ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive into Gaza, where Hamas is in control and has been holding about 200 hostages since its Oct. 7 terror onslaught.

Hamas, which routinely fires rockets into Israel and uses civilians as human shields, has blocked Gazans from evacuating, according to the Israeli military.

Biden said he had secured an offer from Egypt to allow 20 aid trucks to reach Gaza in coming days.

Two Egyptian security sources said equipment was sent on Thursday through the crossing to repair roads on the Gaza side for aid to cross. More than 100 trucks were waiting on the Egyptian side although none were expected to cross before Friday at the earliest.

Israel said it would allow limited aid to reach Gaza from Egypt, but only provided none of it benefited Hamas. It repeated its position that it will open its own checkpoints to let in aid only when all of the more than 200 hostages captured by the terrorists were set free.

“In the Gaza Strip, every place where Hamas has touched or is touching will be struck and destroyed,” a colonel identified as the commander of Israel‘s Ramat David air base told public broadcaster Kan.

RAGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The plight of Gaza civilians has enraged the Middle East, making it harder for Biden and other Western leaders to rally Arab allies to prevent the war from spreading.

An explosion at a hospital in Gaza on the eve of Biden’s visit scuppered his plans to meet Arab leaders, who called off a summit with him. Palestinians blamed the explosion on an Israeli air strike; Israel said it was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Gaza-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, and Biden said US evidence supported the Israeli account.

It fell to Sunak to be the first Western leader to visit an Arab country since the war broke out. He was due to travel after Israel to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had been on the brink of agreeing to normalize relations with Israel before the Hamas attack.