TEL AVIV: Britain's new Foreign Secretary David Lammy reaffirmed his call for a ceasefire in the Gaza war during a second day of talks with Israeli leaders on Monday.
Lammy, on his first Middle East trip since his Labour Party's landslide win in the British election, had already called for a halt to hostilities in a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. He also met Palestinian Authority prime minister Mohammed Mustafa with whom he pressed the case for reform to the authority, officials said.
"I hope ... that we see a ceasefire soon and we bring an alleviation to the suffering and the intolerable loss of life that we're now seeing also in Gaza," Lammy said during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday, according to a statement released by Herzog's office.
Lammy added that Palestinian group Hamas must release the captives seized in its October 7 attacks. He said he was "very conscious of the pain and anguish that many captives families are experiencing and the nation is experiencing". Herzog said the more than 100 captives still in Gaza were the key issue for Israel.
The relentless bombardments came as prospects dwindled for a truce and captives release deal being secured any time soon.
A senior Hamas official said on Sunday that the group had halted negotiations with international mediators because of Israel's recent attacks in Gaza and its attitude towards talks.
But according to the official, Haniyeh told international mediators Hamas was "ready to resume negotiations" when Israel's government "demonstrates seriousness in reaching a ceasefire agreement and a prisoner exchange deal".
Israel has not commented and Hamas said it was ready to return when Israel shows "seriousness in reaching a ceasefire agreement and a prisoner exchange deal".
Lammy has also called for the speeding up of aid deliveries into Gaza. Going into the visit, he pointed to 680 tonnes of British aid that he said was waiting to enter the hunger-stricken and besieged territory. Last week, US President Joe Biden had suggested a deal might be close, saying at a Nato summit that both sides had agreed to a framework he had set out in late May.
Talks between the warring parties have been mediated by Qatar and Egypt, with US support, but months of negotiations have failed to bring a breakthrough. — AFP
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