UK's Cleverly visits Saudi Arabia for talks on Israel-Gaza war

Mr Cleverly will reaffirm the UK’s support for humanitarian pauses in the conflict as soon as possible

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly meets with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Reuters

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UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has travelled to Saudi Arabia as part of diplomatic efforts to prevent the Israel-Gaza war from becoming a wider Middle East crisis.

Mr Cleverly is due to hold talks with regional ministers in efforts to prevent escalation, work towards a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel, and push to get humanitarian aid into Gaza.

“I have been focused on diplomatic efforts to secure the release of hostages, to ensure that foreign nationals can leave Gaza, to deter any escalation regionally and to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid at scale," he said.

“I will continue this essential work in Saudi Arabia where I will meet with a number of my counterparts in the region to explore how we achieve those aims quickly, and also look to the future of a lasting, peaceful and prosperous two-state solution for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

There are concerns about the spread of violence beyond the Israel-Gaza war started by the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel.

Mr Cleverly is expected to increase attempts to prevent wider regional escalation, including in Lebanon and Yemen, where Iranian-backed groups have attacked Israel.

The latest from the Israel-Gaza war - in pictures

Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital. Reuters

A Palestinian girl wounded in Israeli strikes waits for treatment at Al Shifa hospital, in Gaza city. Reuters

Flames rage in a field near the border village of Burj Al-Mamluk, in southern Lebanon's Khiam plain, after an Israeli bombardment. AFP

Smoke rises after air strikes during direct combat between the Israeli army and Hamas, near the beach road in Gaza city. EPA

Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, looking for safety, camp on the grounds of Al Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

People search through buildings, destroyed during Israeli air strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza. Getty Images

Israeli troops during operations in northern Gaza. AFP

A photo taken from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza shows the continued Israeli bombardment of the northern Gaza Strip. AFP

Palestinian men pray over the bodies of members of the Abu Taim family before burial in Khan Younis. AFP

Israeli soldiers stand amid rubble during the ground invasion against Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters

A woman and two children evacuated from Gaza walk on the tarmac at the Baza 90 air force base in Otopeni, Romania, after arriving from Egypt. AP

Gazans inspect the Khaled bin Al-Walid Mosque, which was destroyed during Israeli air raids in Khan Younis. Getty Images

Residents flee from Al Shatea refugee camp during combat between the Israeli army and Hamas in Gaza city. EPA

An artillery unit moves near the border with Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Getty Images

Smoke rises during direct combat between the Israeli army and militants of the Ezz Al-Din Al Qassam militia, the military wing of the Hamas movement, at the beach road in west-centre Gaza City. EPA

People search for survivors and bodies after a building was hit by Israeli bombing in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

A boy learns his father has been killed in an Israeli air strike at a hospital in Khan Younis. Reuters

Israeli soldiers training in the upper Galilee region, near the border with Lebanon. AFP

Destruction in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from Sderot in southern Israel. Reuters

A girl looks on as bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes are laid out at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Reuters

Mourners pray next to the bodies of members of the Daher family, who were killed by Israel strikes, at the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters

A satellite image shows the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Reuters

People search through the rubble of buildings destroyed during Israeli air raids in Khan Younis. Getty Images

Smoke rises over the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from Sderot. Reuters

An ambulance transporting injured Palestinians to Egyptian hospitals for treatment waits on the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. Reuters

Palestinian doctor Mohammad Abu Namoos, who chose to stay in Gaza to treat patients, says goodbye to his family before they leave. Reuters

The funeral of three children and their grandmother killed in an Israeli air strike in Blida, Lebanon. EPA

Palestinian children denouncing the killing of children in Gaza by waving banners and flags during a sit-in protest at the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut. AFP

Men pray during a rally in support of Palestinians outside Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York. AFP

A teddy bear symbolising hostages and missing children is placed on a bench in Tel Aviv, as people gather for a vigil to mark the one-month anniversary of the October 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel. Reuters

A survivor of the Nova Festival attack, May Hayat, takes cover as rocket sirens sound, during her first visit to the scene of the attack, near Re'im, Israel. Reuters

Palestinians flee Gaza city to the southern Gaza Strip on Salah al-Din street in Bureij. AP

A satellite picture showing the Rafah border crossing to Egypt. AFP

People gather in Tel Aviv for a candlelit vigil to mark the one-month anniversary of the October 7 deadly attack by Hamas militants on Israel. Reuters

Doris Liber, whose son Guy Iluz is being held hostage in Gaza, during a press conference with House Republicans at the Capitol in Washington. AP

Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip on Salah al-Din Street in Bureij. AP

Mourners attend the funeral of four Palestinians killed by Israeli troops at Tulkarm refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank. EPA

He will also discuss initiatives to significantly increase aid flowing into Gaza, which has been cut off and bombarded by the Israeli military, leading to shortages of medicine, fuel, food and water.

Mr Cleverly will reaffirm the UK’s support for more humanitarian pauses in the fighting as soon as possible to deliver aid and provide a crucial window for hostages – including British nationals – to be released.

And he will also use his meetings to repeat his condemnation of the rise of attacks involving Israeli settlers in the West Bank, and to call for Israel to hold those responsible to account.