British Foreign Minister Cameron Wants PM Netanyahu To Agree On Humanitarian Pause

Bad luck UNICEF/Abed Zaqout via news.un.org

JAKARTA - British Foreign Minister David Cameron held important talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

According to a statement issued by the government, Cameron explained that he wanted the humanitarian pause to be implemented immediately so that the hostages could be released and aid could enter, so that a sustainable ceasefire could be carried out without becoming hostile again.

"To achieve this, Hamas must agree to release all hostages, they can no longer control Gaza while firing rockets at Israel, and a deal must exist so that the Palestinian Authority can return to Gaza to provide governance, services and security," he said..

Underlining the importance of a long-term political strategy, he called for a credible and irreversible path towards the formation of a Palestinian state side by side with Israel.

Regarding the bad humanitarian situation in Gaza, Cameron stressed the importance of increasing aid in the region.

He called on Israel to open more crossing posts to Gaza, expand the operation of the Nitzana and Kerem SALom crossings, and support the United Nations in distributing aid effectively throughout Gaza.

Cameron also underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza and take possible action to ensure the safety of medics and medical facilities.

He also met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, underscoring the need to involve all stakeholders to get a comprehensive resolution.

More than 25,500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel started its war, and thousands more are feared to have died under the rubble amid widespread destruction. The majority of those killed, about two-thirds, were women and children.

About 85 percent of Gazans have fled, all experiencing food insecurity, and the health system is collapsing. Hundreds of thousands of people live without shelter and less than half of the number of aid trucks that could enter the region compared to before the conflict.