UPDATE - France, UK express desire for 'immediate, lasting' cease-fire in Gaza

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY FRENCH, BRITISH MINISTERS; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – The French and British foreign ministers on Tuesday expressed desire for "an immediate, lasting truce" in the Gaza Strip Israel continues its attacks on the besieged enclave.

Catherine Colonna, in a joint news conference with her British counterpart David Cameron in Paris, said: "I believe our efforts are converging on a call for the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages, and to call for an immediate and lasting truce to progress towards a cease-fire, to fight against Hamas and terrorism."

Colonna stressed the importance of working to move forward with a political solution and said the "only viable solution that will lead to peace and security both for Israelis and Palestinians is the two-state solution."

The French minister recalled that she recently paid a visit to the region and observed "the violence committed by certain extremist settlers in the West Bank," which she described as "regrettable and inadmissible."

Colonna added that France asked Israel to sanction them in line with the law and decided to take measures at an international level against those settlers.

She also deplored the threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and said: "Measures will be taken in coordination with our allies."

"For our part, what we want to see is a cease-fire as soon as possible, but it must be a sustainable cease-fire," Cameron said. ***"It must be a cease-fire in which Israel is no longer threatened by Hamas."

Israel's air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas have killed at least 19,667 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas offensive, according to Israeli authorities.

- Situation in Ukraine

Both French and British foreign ministers vowed continued efforts to support Ukraine in its war with Russia.

"Our countries, hand in hand, are working together to ensure that the Russian aggression fails so that Ukraine can recover its full sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we want this cooperation to be strengthened still further to ensure support over time to Ukraine," Colonna said.

"Britain and France have been staunch supporters of Ukraine and we will continue to be so for as long as it takes," Cameron said for his part. "We must be absolutely staunch in how we back Ukraine."

- Irregular migration

Cameron also spoke about governments being challenged by "very high profile, very visible, illegal migration."

He voiced wish for "successful multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and opportunity-based democracies," and expressed the need for "good immigration rules and positive integration of people."

"That means tackling illegal migration and not stopping until we have dealt with the problem," he said.

Handling small boat crossings by irregular migrants across the British Channel is among the top five priorities of the British government, as more than 45,000 migrants arrived in the UK that way last year.