STORY: :: The UK's new foreign minister seeks a hostage deal and ceasefire during his Middle East trip
:: Jerusalem
:: July 15, 2024
:: Yael Adar, Mother of deceased hostage
"My son is my eldest son, Tamir - he was 38 years old and on Saturday 7 October he just went out from the safe room to protect his family in Kibbutz Nir Oz. There's about 77 members of the Kibbutz were kidnapped to Gaza and about 55 were murdered."
:: David Lammy, UK foreign minister
"I hope that we see a hostage deal emerge in the coming days. And I am using all diplomatic efforts. Indeed last week with the G7 nations, and particularly with Tony Blinken pressing for that hostage deal. And I hope too, that we see a ceasefire soon, and we bring an alleviation to the suffering."
Lammy also met with Israel's president Isaac Herzog and emphasized his commitment to using diplomatic channels to help Israel with the release of hostages.
Lammy was also due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and made the case for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution, the foreign office said in a statement.
He will raise with Netanyahu the issue of 680 tonnes of British aid that is waiting to enter Gaza, the foreign office said.
