Starmer pleads Israel and Hezbollah to 'step back from the brink' in UN address

Sir Keir Starmer makes his first UN conference address since becoming prime minister.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has urged Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a ceasefire in a speech to the United Nations, warning “further escalation serves no one”.

He pleaded for both sides to step back from the brink, and said fighting risks spilling into a wider regional war.

“I call on Israel and Hezbollah. Stop the violence. Step back from the brink,” he said.

“We need to see an immediate ceasefire to provide space for a diplomatic settlement and we are working with all partners to that end.”

Lebanon has seen some of its deadliest days since war in 2006, with hundreds killed by Israeli airstrikes since Monday.

Despite calls for a ceasefire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the military to "continue fighting with full force".

In his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, Starmer also called for a ceasefire and diplomacy in Gaza, and said growing suffering "shames us all".

The prime minister said the UN must be reformed and strengthened, saying the war in Ukraine was a test for the organisation.

"We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," he said. "It is our duty to respond to a more dangerous world with strength."

It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged world leaders to seek true peace in the ongoing conflict with Russia, rather than a quick way out.

Starmer argued that if nations failed to support the country, currently battling invading Russian forces, the alternative would fuel the "worst claims" that international law is simply a "paper tiger".

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He also highlighted conflict in Sudan, urging leaders towards a proper response to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

"The world cannot look away," Starmer said.

The prime minister went on to announce a new British International Investment initiative, working with the City of London to use billions of pounds from pension and insurance funds to invest in "boosting" development and fighting climate change.

Towards the end of his speech, he promised a change in the UK's manner: “Moving from the paternalism of the past towards partnership for the future.

“Listening a lot more - speaking a bit less.”

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