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Louise Thomas
Editor
David Lammy called for an immediate ceasefire in his first meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the Middle East on Sunday.
The foreign secretary raised the urgent need for a ceasefire agreed by both sides, which includes the release of all hostages and a rapid increase of aid into Gaza.
In meetings with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, Mr Lammy made the case for working towards a two-state solution to the conflict.
The foreign secretary was also expected to announce that the UK will provide another £5.5m this year to UK-Med to fund its work in Gaza.
The medical aid charity sends experienced humanitarian medics, including those working in the NHS, to crisis-hit regions.
This funding will be used to support the ongoing work of its field hospitals and the emergency department at Nasser Hospital.
Mr Lammy said: “The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable.
“This war must end now, with an immediate ceasefire, complied with by both sides.
“The fighting has got to stop, the hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas terrorists need to be released immediately and aid must be allowed in to reach the people of Gaza without restrictions.
“I am meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to stress the UK’s ambition and commitment to play its full diplomatic role in securing a ceasefire deal and creating the space for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
“The world needs a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.”
He added: “Central to this is to see an end to expanding illegal Israeli settlements and rising settler violence in the West Bank.
“Here, in what should be a crucial part of a Palestinian state, alongside Gaza and East Jerusalem, we need to see a reformed and empowered Palestinian Authority.”
In Israel, Mr Lammy held high-level talks with Mr Netanyahu and president Isaac Herzog to reiterate the need to end the fighting in Gaza.
In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the foreign secretary welcomed the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to delivering reform and reiterated the UK’s support for its government.
Mr Lammy’s visit comes after Israel’s latest strike on Gaza, which killed at least 90 people in the south of the territory.
The Israelis say the attack targeted Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, but it was not known whether he was among the dead.
Labour has suffered a fall in support among Muslim voters over its stance on the conflict in Gaza, with critics accusing Sir Keir Starmer of not calling quickly enough for a ceasefire.
One of the biggest upsets of the general election was former shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth, who lost his Leicester South seat to a pro-Gaza independent candidate, Shockat Adam. Meanwhile former shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire blamed the Gaza conflict in part for having lost in Bristol Central to the Green Party.
