Diplomacy is the key to taking heat out of Israel crisis - The Yorkshire Post says

The Prime Minister, the US President and the leaders of all the major European countries are among those speaking with a single unified voice in calling for Israel to respect international humanitarian law, for Hamas to release the hostages it is holding and for aid to be allowed in to the people of Gaza.

These are eminently sensible and reasonable requests aimed at taking the heat out of a conflict that threatens to spiral out of control, not least because of the increasingly belligerent and inflammatory rhetoric from Hezbollah, in Lebanon, and its Iranian paymasters.

It seems inevitable that Israel will launch a ground offensive into Gaza, which holds out the grim prospect of further mass civilian casualties to add to the already tragically high numbers on both sides.

The dilemma for Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden and their fellow leaders lies in finding a route towards a ceasefire that assuages Israel’s concerns over its security. Regrettably, the long and bloody history of conflict and the many false dawns of hope for peaceful co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians only serve to underline how difficult a task the international community faces.

But try they must. The first priority is to prevent a humanitarian disaster unfolding that destroys the lives of innocents. Beyond that, de-escalating the conflict and preventing it spreading present formidable challenges. Yet as Mr Sunak and Mr Biden’s visits to the Middle East last week demonstrated, regional leaders are willing to listen to voices of moderation. It is in the interests of all that they should prevail and the violence be ended.