By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) – In a phone call on the ongoing Mideast conflict, Britain’s prime minister and the Palestinian president on Monday agreed on the importance of avoiding further regional escalation.
During the phone call with Mahmoud Abbas, Rishi Sunak expressed his condolences for the deaths of Palestinian civilians, said a statement by the UK Foreign Office,
Reiterating the UK's position, Sunak said: "Hamas does not speak for ordinary Palestinians."
Sunak and Abbas agreed on the importance of avoiding further regional escalation and ensuring calm in the West Bank.
"The Prime Minister committed the UK’s support for the Palestinian Authority in trying to establish peace and stability," said the statement, adding that the two leaders discussed support for Gaza, including humanitarian aid and measures to protect civilians.
They also agreed that the international community "must intensify" efforts to break the cycle of violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, it said.
The statement noted that Sunak affirmed that Britain continues to support "a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state existing alongside a safe and secure Israel.”
Abbas’ Fatah movement is a rival to the Hamas group for leadership in the Palestinian territories, with Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip, which launched an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7
Ten days into the conflict with Palestinian group Hamas, Israeli bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip has continued, with over 1 million people – almost half the total population of Gaza – having been displaced, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Gaza is undergoing a dire humanitarian crisis, with no electricity, while water, food, fuel, and medical supplies are running out, as civilians flee to the south following Israel’s warning to evacuate northern areas.
The fighting began when Hamas on Oct. 7 initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.
Since then the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has risen to 2,750, including 750 children.
In Israel, 1,300 have been killed.