G7 nations say pressing Israel for a rapid end to war

G7 major powers are working with Israel to secure a “rapid” end to the war with Hamas and to reduce civilian casualties, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says.

An Italian foreign ministry statement said Tajani had phone calls with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and suggested “joint forms of pressure, at G7 level, on the parties involved (in the conflict) to achieve certain objectives.”

“G7 countries are working with the Israeli government to find a rapid way out of the military phase,” it quotes Tajani as saying as Italy begins its one-year presidency of the Group of Seven major industrialized powers.

One “absolute objective” is “to limit immediately the number of Palestinian civilian casualties,” and a second is “to put pressure on the Israeli government to end military operations” in Gaza, the statement says.