UK Premier Rishi Sunak urges rapid humanitarian pause in Gaza

By Gizem Nisa Cebi

ISTANBUL (AA) - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged an immediate end Saturday to the conflict in the Gaza Strip, emphasizing the release of hostages and the urgent delivery of aid by all means possible.

"This terrible conflict must end. The hostages must be released. The aid – which we have been straining every sinew to deliver by land, air and sea – must be flooded in," Sunak said in a statement on the six-month anniversary of the Oct. 7 "terrorist outrage" by Hamas against Israel.

He described it as "the most appalling attack in Israel’s history" and said it was "the worst loss of Jewish life since World War II."

"Six months later, Israeli wounds are still unhealed. Families still mourn and hostages are still held by terrorists," noted Sunak.

He condemned the ongoing "bloodshed" and the recent killing of British aid workers while affirming the UK's support for Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism.

The toll on civilians in Gaza has only worsened with "hunger, desperation, and loss of life" persisting on an "awful scale," he said.

Sunak also urged a "humanitarian pause" leading to a "sustainable cease-fire" to alleviate the suffering of children in Gaza and to promote "peace, dignity, and security" for "both Israelis and Palestinians."

"That is the fastest way to get hostages out and aid in and to stop the fighting and loss of life," he added.