Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
British charities have called on the government to assist refugees fleeing the conflict in Israel and Gaza.
Organisations including the Refugee Council, Safe Passage International, Doctors of the World, the Helen Bamber Foundation and the City of Sanctuary urged the government to be ready to put in place a package of measures at short notice.
They have drawn up a list of necessary steps, including the medical evacuation for people in need of specialist care, an emergency family reunion programme, an emergency refugee protection visa and facilitated travel for UK citizens and those with the right to enter the UK.
The groups have also called on the government to prioritise cases of Israelis and Palestinians already in the UK asylum system.
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said that the UK must be ready to play a role in the refugee crisis.
“As the conflict worsens the number of Palestinian men, women and children displaced and those facing grave danger will only increase,” he said.
“People who aren't secure and safe in their homes need access to safety and the UK must be ready to play a role by implementing a package of emergency measures at short notice.”
He said that the UK should create a standardised asylum system, instead of the “ad hoc and inconsistent” approach it has applied to refugees from recent major conflicts.
“At the same time it is vital that the right to asylum is up held for those who, through no fault of their own, have to take dangerous journeys to the UK, as well as expanding safe routes including an ambitious multi-year resettlement commitment, wider family reunion pathways and the piloting of a refugee visa,” Mr Solomon said.
The call came after Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf recently urged the international community to establish a refugee programme for those fleeing violence in Gaza.
Mr Yousaf, in an address to his party's annual conference, said Scotland would offer sanctuary to people who arrived in the UK as refugees.
The First Minister said there were currently a million people displaced within the Gaza Strip, after Israeli warnings to leave ahead of an expected ground invasion.
He said Scotland was “ready to play her part” and hospitals there would treat the injured and wounded “men, women and children of Gaza, where we can”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a call with the leaders of five other western countries on Sunday night, seeking to prevent the Israel-Gaza war from spreading across the region.
Mr Sunak, US leader Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Canada’s Justin Trudeau called for Israel to respect international humanitarian law, demanded the release of the hostages held by Hamas and pushed for aid for Gaza.
The latest from the Israel-Gaza war – in pictures
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Palestinians look for survivors of Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Nusseirat refugee camp. AP -
A survivor is found in the rubble in Nusseirat. AP -
A man is given oxygen and pulled from the rubble in Nusseirat. AP -
This desperate search for survivors is being replicated across the Gaza Strip. AP -
Yocheved Lifshitz speaks to the media outside a Tel Aviv hospital after being released by Hamas. EPA -
Israeli women who were held hostage by Palestinian Hamas militants, Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper (also known as Nurit Yitzhak), are released by the militants. Reuters -
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron before their talks in Jerusalem. AP -
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli air strike on a house in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Palestinians inspect the damage of a destroyed house that was hit by an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis. AP -
Ms Cooper and Ms Lifshitz arrive at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre after being released by Hamas on Monday. AFP -
A woman cries next to the rubble of a building after Israeli strikes on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. AFP -
Wateen, a 14-month-old Palestinian baby, who was wounded in an Israeli strike that killed her mother and injured her twin brother Ahmed, recovers at Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. Reuters -
A Palestinian girl clutches salvaged books as people look for survivors in the rubble of a destroyed building hit in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis. AFP -
People mourn during the funeral of members of the Abu Morad family who died following Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis. AFP -
A wounded Palestinian man arrives at Nasser Medical Complex, following Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. AP -
Red Crescent Society employees sort humanitarian aid bound for Palestinians in Gaza, at a warehouse in Arish, Egypt. EPA -
Ayman Abou Chamalah stands next to his daughter Mecca as she receives care inside an incubator at a hospital in Rafah. AFP -
Israeli soldiers carry the coffin of Erik Kraunik, chief of security in the kibbutz of Be'eri, during his funeral at a cemetery in Yehud, Israel. AP -
A man sits among the rubble of a building destroyed in Israel's bombardment of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
A Red Crescent worker sorts aid for Palestinians in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the blockaded enclave. Reuters -
Israeli soldiers take part in a drill near the border with Gaza ahead of an expected ground invasion. EPA -
Men fill fuel containers with drinking water in Rafah. AFP -
Smoke billows over Gaza after an air strike, as seen from southern Israel. AP -
A person holds a child as Palestinians gather in Khan Younis at the site of a house destroyed during an Israeli bombardment. Reuters -
Israeli soldiers sit on top of a tank near the border with Gaza. Getty Images -
Buildings destroyed by Israeli air strikes in Khan Younis. Reuters -
Palestinians are evacuated from a building in Rafah that was hit during Israel's bombardment. AP -
Shahar Idan, 9, mourns during the funeral of his brother Maayan, 18, who was killed by Hamas gunmen in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz. His father Tzahi is being held hostage in Gaza. Reuters -
Palestinian doctors treat a premature baby at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al Balah, Gaza. AP -
Rescue crews search for bodies after Hamas militants attacked the kibbutz of Be'eri in Israel. Getty Images -
Lorries carrying humanitarian aid head to Deir Al Balah after crossing from Egypt through Rafah. Bloomberg -
Palestinians evacuate survivors in Deir Al Balah after an Israeli bombardment. AP -
Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes on Gaza. EPA -
Israeli soldiers at a position along the border with Lebanon. EPA -
A woman leans against the window of an ambulance outside Kuwait Hospital after an Israeli strike in Rafah. AFP -
A Palestinian cries as the body of his daughter is recovered from beneath the rubble of a building destroyed during an Israeli air strike on Rafah. AFP -
A convoy carrying humanitarian aid arrives in Rafah after crossing into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Bloomberg -
The pictures of more than 1,000 people abducted or killed during the attack by Hamas militants are displayed on empty seats at Tel Aviv University. Getty -
Palestinians are evacuated from buildings in Rafah after the bombardment of the Gaza Strip. AP -
Israeli soldiers gather at an undisclosed location near the border with Gaza. EPA -
Palestinians mourn outside a house in Gaza struck by Israel. Reuters -
A bullet-riddled fridge in a house in the kibbutz of Kissufim in southern Israel, where 14 people were killed and four were abducted by Hamas militants on October 7. AP -
Football fans inside Anfield stadium hold up Palestine flags during the Liverpool-Everton derby on Saturday. Reuters -
Palestinians wounded in the bombardment of Gaza are taken to Al Asa Hospital in Deir Al Balah. AP -
Rescuers search for victims and survivors in buildings destroyed by air strikes in Khan Younis, Gaza. Getty -
Residents of Tel Aviv show support for the families of hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas. Reuters
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The leaders reiterated their support for Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorism and called for adherence to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians.
“They welcomed the release of two hostages and called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.”
The first aid convoys reached Gaza through the border with Egypt at the weekend – 20 lorries on Saturday and 14 on Sunday.
But the UN said much more was needed, adding that the Rafah border crossing was still not open for foreigners seeking to flee bombarded and besieged Gaza.
The Downing Street spokeswoman said that the leaders were “committed to close co-ordination to support their nationals in the region, in particular those wishing to leave Gaza”.
“The leaders welcomed the announcement of the first humanitarian convoys to reach Palestinians in need in Gaza and committed to continue co-ordinating with partners in the region to ensure sustained and safe access to food, water, medical care and other assistance required to meet humanitarian needs,” she said.
