Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent progress he has made towards securing a further humanitarian pause in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

We want to see an end to the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible. We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.

Several vital steps are required: the release of all Israeli hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; the removal of Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.

The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary continue to reiterate these steps in their contacts with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political leaders, including during the Foreign Secretary's visit to Israel on 24 January, as well as with leaders in Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in recent weeks.

We need to generate momentum now towards a permanent peace. That is why we are pressing for a Contact Group, bringing together the key players, to be set up at once.