Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking with international counterparts to encourage the safe release by Hamas of all hostages.

The Government's thoughts are with those families who are facing unimaginable uncertainty and fear because of these despicable attacks and kidnappings and the safety of all British nationals continues to be our utmost priority. We are using all the tools available to us to secure the release of hostages and intensive international negotiations are ongoing. We continue to call for humanitarian pauses that allow enough time for hostages to be released and we will continue to work closely with our United Nations Security Council partners following the passing of the resolution on 15 November which delivered on the UK's priorities, including the release of hostages. The Prime Minister has also met several families of those believed to have been taken hostage, both in Israel and in the UK, and we are assisting the families of several individuals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.