US, Germany, UK, France see 'immediate necessity' to end Gaza war

U.S. President Joe Biden and the German, French and British leaders have stressed the "immediate necessity" for ending the more than year-old war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Biden, Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer in a joint statement said they agreed on "the immediate necessity to bring the hostages home to their families, for ending the war in Gaza, and ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians."

The four leaders said they had "discussed events in the Middle East, in particular the implications of the death of Yahya Sinwar, who bears responsibility for the bloodshed of the October 7 terrorist attack" at the meeting in Berlin.

The leaders said they had also discussed the conflict in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Hezbollah, and "reiterated their condemnation of Iran's escalatory attack on Israel."

On October 1 the Islamic republic fired about 200 missiles at Israel in revenge for the killing of two of its closest allies, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as well as an Iranian general.

Palestinian militant group Hamas sparked the war in Gaza by staging the deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The attack allegedly resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

During the attack, militants took 251 people hostage back into Gaza. Ninety-seven remain there, including 34 who Israeli officials say are dead.

Israel's military campaign to crush Hamas and bring back the hostages has killed at least 42,500 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The U.N. considers those figures to be reliable.