Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to de-escalate the situation in Gaza.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has spoken to Israeli and Palestinian counterparts as well as key international partners about the present crisis in Gaza on numerous occasions in recent weeks, urging an end to violence, a durable ceasefire and successful negotiations in Cairo which lead to a sustainable solution to the current crisis, tackling its underlying causes. He has visited Ramallah, Jerusalem and Cairo for talks and attended the Foreign Affairs Council on 15 August. He most recently spoke to the Egyptian Foreign Minister about the ceasefire talks on 20 August.