David Lammy calls for immediate ceasefire as he meets Israeli and Palestinian leaders

David Lammy will call for an immediate ceasefire as he meets with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the Middle East on Sunday.

The Foreign Secretary will raise 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 will also make the case for working towards a two-state solution to the conflict.

The Foreign Secretary is set to announce that the UK will provide another £5.5 million 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.

The world needs a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state

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 will hold 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 will welcome the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to delivering reform and reiterate 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 was targeted Hamas’ military commander Mohammed Deif, but it was not known whether he was among the dead.