Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help secure the release of people taken hostage by Hamas.

This government has prioritised working to end this conflict and secure the safe release of hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas since day one.  During their joint visit to the region, the Foreign Secretary and French Foreign Secretary Stéphane Séjourné met with Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz to reiterate the need to end the conflict in Gaza and secure the release of hostages. Both the Foreign Secretary and I have met with hostage families with links to the UK whose loved ones have been murdered or taken by Hamas and reiterated our commitment to using all diplomatic avenues to secure their release.

We welcome the tireless efforts of our partners in Qatar, Egypt and the United States, and fully endorse their joint statement calling for the immediate resumption of ceasefire negotiations and a hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.  This deal is the best way to get the remaining hostages out. We are urging all sides to show flexibility.