UK foreign secretary stresses importance of flowing more aid into Gaza

The British foreign secretary on Wednesday welcomed the hostage swap deal reached between Israel and Hamas, pointing out the entry of humanitarian aid, including fuel into the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, UK Foreign Office said David Cameron met foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries in London to discuss the Israel-Gaza crisis.

"Discussions with the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee focused on how to secure the release of all hostages, increase the amount of aid into Gaza, and reach a long-term political solution to the crisis," the press release said.

The foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, Türkiye, Indonesia and Nigeria, as well as the secretary general of the Arab League and ambassador of Qatar attended the event in London.

These countries were mandated by the Extraordinary Joint Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation - Arab League, on Nov. 11 to take international action to stop the war in Gaza and achieve lasting peace.

"The agreement reached last night is an important opportunity to get the hostages out and more aid into Gaza to help the Palestinian people," Cameron said in the statement.

"We discussed how to use this step forward to think about the future and how we can build a peaceful future which provides security for Israel but also peace and stability for the Palestinian people," he added.

The Israeli government and Hamas agreed to a hostage swap early Wednesday.

Under the agreement, 50 Israelis held by Hamas will be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

The deal also includes a four-day pause in fighting and the entry of 300 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid, including fuel, into the Gaza Strip.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing more than 14,500 Palestinians, including at least 6,000 children and 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques, and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel's air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.