Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the shock Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen aimed to prevent the expansion of its peaceful relations in the Middle East, and asked Britain to keep supporting the Gaza counter-offensive.

"We were on the cusp of expanding that peace, and destroying that move was one of the reasons why this action was taken," Netanyahu told visiting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

"This is our darkest hour," he added. "That means that this is a long war, and we'll need your continuous support."