UK, US, France, Germany to discuss Gaza truce on sidelines of Iran talks

British Foreign Secretary William Hague says he will discuss an international push for a ceasefire in Gaza with US Secretary of State John Kerry and his German and French counterparts during talks in Vienna on Sunday.

Hague said in a statement on Saturday that the discussions on ending the hostilities between Israel and Gaza would take place on the sidelines of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme in the Austrian capital.

“It is clear that we need urgent, concerted international action to secure a ceasefire, as was the case in 2012” during the last round of conflict between Israel and militants in the Palestinian coastal enclave, Hague said.

“I will discuss this with John Kerry, Laurent Fabius and Frank-Walter Steinmeier tomorrow [Sunday] in Vienna.”

He said he had also spoken by telephone on Saturday with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman after 127 people died in five days of Israeli air strikes aimed at ending Hamas rocket fire.

“I stressed the need for an immediate de-escalation and restoration of the November 2012 ceasefire, our deep concern about the number of civilian casualties and the need for all sides to avoid further civilian injuries and the loss of innocent life,” Hague said.

– AFP