France chairs call with western allies, Arab nations on Middle East

The leaders of Canada, France, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and Britain held a call on Monday to discuss the situation in the Middle East, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement.

"All leaders agreed that the focus must remain on advancing peace and security, including reaching a lasting ceasefire, securing the release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas, and scaling up flows of life-saving assistance for Palestinian civilians," it said.

The call was chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron.

- Reporting by Reuters