Rishi Sunak has said he is looking forward to meetings with Israeli leaders after landing in Tel Aviv.
Speaking at the airport, the PM said he hoped his conversations with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog would be “productive”.
His visit comes right after President Biden’s as world leaders step up efforts to prevent the conflict with Hamas spilling into the wider region.
Mr Sunak will use his two-day visit to press for humanitarian aid in Gaza.
“I am in Israel, a nation in grief,” the prime minister said on social media after landing. “I grieve with you and stand with you against the evil that is terrorism. Today and always.”
He is due to meet Mr Netanyahu and Mr Herzog later and, among other things, offer his condolences for the civilians killed so far during the war. He will then go on to visit other regional capitals.
The trip, which follows German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s on Tuesday and Mr Biden’s 24 hours later, suggests a united front between the Western leaders.
They are part of what is known diplomatically as the Quint – a group made up of the US, UK, Germany, France and Italy – the leaders of which spoke shortly after Hamas’s attack on Israel earlier this month.
French President Emmanuel Macron will be the next to visit Israel – he is expected in the coming days.
Those around Mr Sunak have said his visit will focus on physically showing solidarity with Israel, pressing for humanitarian aid to reach people in Gaza and emphasising face to face the need for Israel’s approach to a ground invasion to be “measured and calm.”
Mr Biden’s visit was overshadowed by a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday.
He said the blast appeared to have been caused by a failed rocket launched by Palestinian militants, backing Israel’s account of the incident.
But Palestinian officials said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said British intelligence services were working to establish who was behind the blast, telling MPs not to “rush to judgment”.
In a later statement, Mr Sunak said: “The attack on Al-Ahli Hospital should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict.
“I will ensure the UK is at the forefront of this effort.”
The remainder of the Prime Minister’s trip remains uncertain – a swirl of security and diplomatic moving parts means his precise itinerary is in flux.
