Gordon Brown pledges £20 million in aid for Gaza

[Oscar Namechange]

Gordon Brown today pledged £20 million to Gaza

UK pledges £20m to Gaza | The Sun |News

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown has flown to the Middle East for an international summit on the Gaza crisis, as Hamas joins the ceasefire.

As he arrived in Egypt, the Prime Minister announced an additional £20 million of British humanitarian aid and called for renewed efforts to find a lasting peace in the region.

The ceasefire came into effect at midnight, UK time, bringing a halt to an air and ground offensive which has claimed more than 1,200 Palestinian lives since December 27.

In an apparent criticism of the scale of the Israeli response to Hamas rocket attacks, Mr Brown said “too many” innocent people had died in the 22-day assault on Gaza.

On his flight to the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh: “We have yet to discover the full scale of the appalling suffering.

“But what is already clear is that too many innocent civilians, including hundreds of children, have been killed during the military offensive.”

Mr Brown said the violence in Gaza must not halt the search for a path to peace, but should spur the international community on in its efforts to establish a sustainable two-state solution.

It is hoped that today’s discussions will produce progress on the closure of arms-smuggling tunnels into Gaza, as well as the reopening of border points under EU monitoring, probably beginning with the Rafa crossing linking the Palestinian enclave with Egypt.

Hama says it will resume hostilities in a week's time unless Israel withdraws its troops from the territory.