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

US President Joe Biden and the German, French and British leaders on Friday stressed the "immediate necessity" for ending Israel's more than year-old war on Gaza.

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.

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  1 October 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 Hassan Nasrallah, as well as an Iranian general.

Israel is expected to retaliate, but the quantity and quality of its attack on Iran is not yet known, with fears that a strong response could trigger a regional war.

Israel's war to on Gaza has killed at least 42,500 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to data from the health ministry.

The UN considers those figures to be reliable.