Pressure on Israel grows to seek steps toward peace

The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France and Germany have all called on Israel to take steps toward a ceasefire in its conflict with Hamas, amid reports that the civilian death toll in Gaza is now close to 19,000.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have said efforts must be made "to pave the way to a sustainable ceasefire, leading to a sustainable peace … the sooner it comes, the better — the need is urgent."

Their French counterpart Catherine Colonna added that there should be a "new humanitarian truce", leading to a ceasefire, but Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy has defended Israel's response to the attacks by Hamas on Oct 7, which left around 1,200 people killed and saw hundreds more Israelis taken hostage.

"The problem is they (Hamas) are deliberately hiding underneath civilian infrastructure, in total violation of humanitarian law and every norm of humanity," Levy told the BBC.

"And in order to get to the terrorists who are hiding underground, underneath schools and hospitals, we are urging civilians to get out of harm's way".

Gaza's health ministry said large parts of the north of the region have been flattened by the 10-week Israeli bombardment, which has caused thousands of deaths and driven people to the south of the territory.

Last week at the general assembly of the United Nations, or UN, there was an overwhelming vote in support of an immediate ceasefire, but Cameron and Baerbock have said they do not see this as being the answer, as it would not lead to the release of more hostages, or alter what they called the "murderous ideology" of Hamas.

Writing in a joint article in the Sunday Times newspaper, they said that "an unsustainable ceasefire, quickly collapsing into further violence, would only make it harder to build the confidence needed for peace".

"Our goal cannot simply be an end to fighting today. It must be peace lasting for days, years, generations," they continued.

The UN Security Council was due to vote once again on a ceasefire resolution on Monday, weeks after a first vote was vetoed by the United States, consistently one of Israel's most staunch backers.

Sky News said the provisional wording of the latest resolution made mention of "urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip" and the "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages", but it is believed the US wants these words toned down.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shows no sign of changing policy, insisting that his country "will achieve all of our goals: eliminating Hamas, releasing all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza does not again become a focus of terrorism".

US President Joe Biden has expressed concern about the extent of the Gaza offensive, calling the bombing "indiscriminate" and warning that Israel could risk losing international support if it continued with the approach.

His comments came shortly before US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel to meet top government officials.