U.S., European allies press for cease-fire in Gaza, release of hostages

Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The United States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy pledged "full support" for ongoing efforts to stabilize the Middle East as tensions continue to simmer and threaten an expanded regional war with Iran and Hezbollah .

On Monday, the five nations' leaders issued a joint Middle East statement saying they had "discussed the situation in the Middle East," expressing words of support for their mutual goal to de-escalate rising tensions in the region, again calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and a deal for Hamas to release remaining hostages the terrorist group has held in captivity.

"All parties must live up to their responsibilities," the joint statement read, calling for "unfettered delivery and distribution of aid" to Palestinian civilians landlocked in the Gaza Strip trapped by Israeli military aggression.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health, which does not differentiate between civilian and Hamas fighters, states that about 40,000 Palestinians have so far been killed and at least another 92,000 have been wounded.

On Thursday, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar called for talks to resume on a potential cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas in its more than 300-day war between Israel and the Iran-backed militia.

The three nations called on both sides to resume "urgent discussion" on Aug. 15 in either Doha or Cairo, with the goal to "close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay," the trio said last week.

The joint statement on Monday arrives as Israeli intelligence reports that Iran could attack Israeli within days as urgency mounts and fear rises of an expanding war in the Middle East rise over Iranian threats to attack Israel for the assassinations of Tehran's proxy leaders in both Lebanon and Iran.

"We endorsed the joint call from President Biden, President Sisi of Egypt, and Amir Tamim of Qatar to renew talks later this week with an aim to concluding the deal as soon as possible, and stressed there is no further time to lose," read Monday's joint statement.

The three-phase cease-fire deal, first detailed in late May by President Joe Biden , has been endorsed by the United Nations. It seeks an initial six-week cease-fire in the war, which began Oct. 7 after Hamas led a bloody and merciless attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage.

Those prospects have been threated by the recent assassinations of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr on July 30 in Lebanon and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran the following day. Hezbollah has been attacking Israel since the start of the war in solidarity with Hamas.

Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel but also has said the establishment of a cease-fire in Gaza is a priority alongside achieving retribution.

In their statement Monday, the five countries stood their ground in support for the "defense of Israel against Iranian aggression and against attacks by Iran-backed terrorist groups."

"We called on Iran to stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel and discuss the serious consequences for regional security should such an attack take place."