The UK continues to stand by Israel's right to defend its security, Rishi Sunak has said six months on from the October 7 Hamas attacks.
But the Prime Minister urged Israel to ensure aid gets into Gaza more swiftly, with a Royal Navy ship being deployed to help with aid deliveries - and added the UK remains "appalled" by an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) air strike which killed three British aid workers.
Sunday marks six months since the October 7 attack, in which Hamas militants breached the barrier between Gaza and Israel and attacked military bases and civilian communities.
More than 1,100 people were killed in the attack, with 250 people captured as hostages by Hamas, approximately 130 of whom remain in captivity.
It was the trigger for Israel's ongoing military action in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 33,000 Palestinians, and an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Mr Sunak said: “Today marks six months since the terrorist outrage of October 7 - the most appalling attack in Israel's history, the worst loss of Jewish life since the Second World War.
“Six months later, Israeli wounds are still unhealed. Families still mourn and hostages are still held by Hamas."
Mr Sunak added: “We continue to stand by Israel's right to defeat the threat from Hamas terrorists and defend their security.
“But the whole of the UK is shocked by the bloodshed, and appalled by the killing of brave British heroes who were bringing food to those in need."
John Chapman, 57, James "Jim" Henderson, 33, and James Kirby, 47, were the three Britons who died in air strikes carried out by the IDF on their aid convoy on April 1. Israel has called the strike a “grave mistake”.
The Prime Minister highlighted the growing toll on Palestinian civilians, and said the UK had been “straining every sinew" to get aid into Gaza, while emphasising the need for Hamas to release its captives.
He called for an immediate humanitarian pause in the fighting, "leading to a long-term sustainable ceasefire".
David Lammy MP, Labour's shadow foreign secretary, similarly called for Israeli hostages to be returned home, and condemned the "intolerable death and destruction" of the IDF's military campaign.
But in contrast to the Prime Minister, he called for "an immediate ceasefire".
The Government has come under pressure to reveal whether it has received legal advice about continuing arms sales to Israel, which intensified after the killing of seven aid workers, including three Britons last week.
Former Supreme Court justices, including the court’s former president Lady Hale were among those signing an open letter calling for the sales to be stopped last week, arguing they could put the Government in breach of its obligations under international law.
But former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was among those criticising the call, saying it would prevent Israeli forces from defeating Hamas.
He wrote in a column for the Daily Mail that such a move would be “insane” and “shameful,” adding: “The sooner the Government formally denounces the idea, the better."
Senior Government ministers on Saturday pledged that a Royal Navy ship would be deployed to help get aid into Gaza, while also announcing a £9.7 million package to bolster the humanitarian corridor in the eastern Mediterranean between Cyprus and Gaza.
Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said the UK and its allies needed to "explore all options" including sea and air deliveries to "ease the desperate plight of some of the world's most vulnerable people" in the territory.
He said: “The situation in Gaza is dire and the prospect of famine is real. We remain committed to getting aid to those who so desperately need it.”
It comes after Israel's military said Saturday it had recovered the body of a 47-year-old farmer who was held hostage in Gaza.
The IDF said it had found the body of Elad Katzir and that it believed he was killed in January by militants with Islamic Jihad, one of the groups that took part in the October 7 attack.
The discovery renewed pressure on Israel's government for a deal to get the remaining hostages freed.
At least 36 hostages have been confirmed dead, while only about half of the original number have been released.
Cease-fire negotiations are expected to resume on Sunday in Egypt, according to the Reuters news agency, which would also include negotiations on the release of hostages.
