UPDATE - British premier urges UN Security Council to demand 'immediate, full' cease-fire in Gaza

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By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday that the UN Security Council must demand again an "immediate, full and complete" cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, where civilian suffering is "beyond belief."

Starmer, at a UN Security Council open debate on peace and security, urged the group to seek political solutions that can break "repeated cycles of violence" like that in the Middle East, as "the region is on the brink."

"We need an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah and the implementation of a political plan which allows Israeli and Lebanese civilians to return to their homes to live in peace and security," he said.

Israel has launched waves of deadly airstrikes on Lebanon since early Monday, killing nearly 610 victims and injuring more than 2,000, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Security will come through diplomacy, not escalation, he said, adding there is "no military solution here, nor is there a military-only solution to the conflict in Gaza."

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli onslaught against Gaza, which has killed more than 41,400 victims, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, last Oct. 7.

The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of spreading the Gaza conflict regionally.

- 'Israel must open more crossings to allow vital life-saving aid'

"This council must demand again, an immediate, full and complete cease-fire in Gaza, with the release of all the hostages," said Starmer. "We need a political route to that agreement, which provides a bridge to a better future, a credible and irreversible path towards a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure state of Israel."

He stressed that it is "the only way" to provide security and justice for Israelis and Palestinians.

He called civilian suffering “beyond belief" in the besieged Palestinian enclave where the death toll has relentlessly mounted in the last year because of Israeli attacks and urged Israel to grant access to civilians under international humanitarian law.

"There can be no more excuses. Israel must open more crossings to allow vital life-saving aid to flow and provide a safe environment for the UN and other humanitarian organizations to operate."

Starmer also noted that the Council must ensure accountability for those violating the UN Charter, and the group "must recommit" to the values it sets out.