British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leaves 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament in London, United Kingdom, 18 October 2023; Credit: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Egypt on Friday 20 October 2023, part of a trip to the Middle East where he wants to press his message that there should be no escalation of violence in the region after the Hamas attack on Gaza.

Sunak was the latest Western leader to visit Jerusalem on Thursday 19 October 2023 to show support for Israel and to try to negotiate a way to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas and ease the provision of humanitarian aid to people in Gaza.

Later on Thursday, he met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, where he encouraged the leader to use Saudi's leadership in the region to support stability, underlining the fear that the Hamas attack and Israel's response could ignite regional unrest.

In the talks in Egypt, Sunak will stress "the imperative of avoiding regional escalation and preventing the further unnecessary loss of civilian life," his office said.