A councillor met with community leaders over the war in the Middle East, with calls for a ceasefire immediately.

Jack Khan, councillor for the Rumworth ward discussed support for an immediate ceasefire in Palestine and Israel.

Cllr Khan said: 

The Bolton News: Cllr Jack Khan

“We all agreed we all feel an immediate ceasefire should happen and an end to any military solution.”

Cllr Khan said he was keen to see an end to the war and wanted to assure the community that not only did he support a ceasefire for Palestine, but he also said it was important for the Bolton community to stick together during the troubling time.

He said: “I have always been against any military solution and believe that peace can be achieved through dialogue not through war and this meeting was an example."

Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day ceasefire in the war in Gaza, a diplomatic breakthrough that will free dozens of hostages held by militants as well as Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and bring a large influx of aid to the besieged territory.

The truce announced on Wednesday raised hopes of eventually winding down the war.

Now in its seventh week, the war has levelled vast swathes of Gaza, fuelled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank, and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East.

But Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Wednesday he told US President Joe Biden that he will press ahead with Israel’s war after a temporary ceasefire expires.