Prince William calls for Israel-Hamas fighting to end ‘as soon as possible’ in rare statement on crisis

Prince of Wales says aid must be allowed in and hostages be released – as US vetoes UN resolution for immediate ceasefire

Prince William has made a rare intervention into foreign policy to express his deep concern over the “terrible human cost” of the war in Gaza, calling for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hamas “as soon as possible”.

Warning that “too many have been killed” since Hamas’s massacre on 7 October, the heir to the throne pushed at the traditional diplomatic boundaries of his royal role as he stressed the importance of achieving a “permanent peace” in the region.

Downing Street welcomed the Prince of Wales’s intervention and claimed his pleas were consistent with Rishi Sunak’s own position on the conflict, with No 10 insisting Britain was speaking with “one voice as a nation”.