The Group of Seven leaders support U.S. President Joe Biden's Gaza cease-fire proposal backed by the U.N. and call on all parties to implement it, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday.
Speaking to reporters during the G7 summit in Italy, Scholz said the leaders discussed global developments and the ongoing war in the Middle East.
"As you know, the U.S. president presented a plan a few weeks ago which describes in detail how the hostages can be released, how peace can gradually emerge, how a cease-fire can be established,” he said.
"We have jointly supported this plan, and we also welcome that the U.N. Security Council has done the same. Now it is important that all parties implement it. We are calling on Hamas in particular to give the necessary consent so that this can work,” he added.
The leaders of G7 nations gathered in the southern Italian region of Puglia on Thursday for an annual three-day summit to discuss global affairs, security issues, migration and climate change.
The leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron, discussed the Middle East during a working lunch hosted by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the luxury Borgo Egnazia resort.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is hosting the summit, said she confirmed "the unanimous support for the U.S. mediation proposal for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza."
The G7, which also includes Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the U.S., also called for "the release of all hostages, and for a significant increase in humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Gaza", she said.
