Right now, civilian deaths in Gaza are rising at a staggering rate. The Israeli authorities' 16-year-long illegal and inhumane blockade has trapped 2.2 million people in Gaza, including children, the elderly, and disabled, under relentless bombardment by Israeli authorities. With nowhere to go, they face losing everything.

After horrific attacks in Israel by Hamas and other armed groups that, according to Israeli authorities, resulted in 1,200 people killed and the abduction of civilians, at least 200 hostages held in Gaza also remain in danger, and ongoing indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel places civilians at risk.

Humanitarian pauses of a few days will bring a brief respite. But halting the fighting for a matter of days is nowhere near enough to address the catastrophic suffering or relieve the horrifying harm to civilians. We must act now.

A negotiated ceasefire would:

• Put a stop to unlawful attacks by all parties, halt the mounting death toll in Gaza and enable aid agencies to get life-saving aid, water and medical supplies into the strip
• Allow hospitals in Gaza to receive life-saving medicines, fuel and equipment they desperately need and to repair damaged wards
• Provide opportunities to negotiate the release of all hostages detained in Gaza
• Allow for independent international investigations to take place into war crimes committed by all parties to help end long-standing impunity, which continues to produce further atrocities

Palestinians and Israelis deserve a future where they can live free from violence and see an end to the fatal human rights violations that continue to destroy so many lives. Challenging the Israeli authorities' system of apartheid over Palestinians is now more urgent than ever.

Urge Rishi Sunak to call for an immediate ceasefire by all parties and help end the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.