David Lammy has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to end the "intolerable" death and destruction in his first visit to the Middle East as Foreign Secretary.

The Cabinet Minister is set to meet with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday and raise the urgent need for a ceasefire agreed by both sides. He is expected to hold talks with the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas - the President of the Palestinian Authority.

In a statement, the Foreign Secretary said: “The death and destruction in Gaza is intolerable. This war must end now, with an immediate ceasefire, complied with by both sides. The fighting has got to stop, the hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas terrorists need to be released immediately and aid must be allowed in to reach the people of Gaza without restrictions."

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He added: “I am meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to stress the UK’s ambition and commitment to play its full diplomatic role in securing a ceasefire deal and creating the space for a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution. The world needs a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state."

His remarks come after an Israeli strike said to be targeting the suspected October 7 attack mastermind Mohammed Deif killed at least 90 people and injured hundreds more. The charity Action Aid UK said the attack on al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis in the southern area of the Gaza strip happened in a designated "humanitarian zone".

An eyewitness told the BBC that it looked like an "earthquake" had hit while Hamas described the strike as a "horrifying massacre" and denied Deif was killed.

As part of Mr Lammy's visit on Sunday the Foreign Office also announced the UK will provide another £5.5 million this year to UK-Med to fund its work in Gaza. The medical aid charity sends experienced humanitarian medics, including those working in the NHS, to crisis-hit regions. This funding will be used to support the ongoing work of its field hospitals and the emergency department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis - where many of those injured from the Israeli strike were taken.

Speaking to the BBC on Saturday, Louise Wateridge, a spokeswoman at the UN relief and works agency, praised the staff working at the hospital. But she described the dire conditions, saying: "The hospital itself is nothing short of a disaster. You walk into the entrance and you can already smell the blood.

"There was a young man mopping the floor, which was a puddle of blood, with just water. All of the mattresses that patients were on were stained with blood. Very minimal in terms of sanitisation, cleaning equipment, bed sheets, nothing like that in sight - really working in dire conditions."

She added: "In addition to that the heat is so high at the moment. One young girl who was absolutely shell-shocked sat at the end of the bed. Her family told us that her brother had been killed today. She sat there eyes wide open and flies just swarmed around her. They were in her hair and she didn't move her hands once to move them out of the way. You get the sense these children are just used to these conditions now and used to these dire sanitation conditions they are living in."