Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Debbie Abrahams has called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants during an urgent question in the House of Commons.

After Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon, an urgent question was held following the explosion at the al Ahli hospital in Gaza yesterday.

A number of MPs have called on the government to back the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres’s call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the area.

However, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly raised doubts over the feasibility of this, saying he has seen "absolutely nothing" from Hamas to give "any confidence at all that they would respect a ceasefire".

During the hearing, Ms Abrahams said: “The UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has also called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Clearly, the Foreign Secretary has some issues with that.

“I’m not really understanding why, but given that, is it appropriate for a third party such as the UN, who have people on the ground – and their assessment, with respect, is probably more realistic than his… in the intermediate time – what are the safe corridors that are being proposed?”

Responding, Mr Cleverly said: "My staff are in danger in Gaza. They choose to put their lives at risk in an incredibly dangerous part of the world in order to give me direct insight into reality to the ground.

“So I would just urge her to be a bit more thoughtful with regard to the danger that my diplomats, both UK-based diplomats and locally engaged staff put themselves in.

“The truth is that I have received nothing that gives me any indication that Hamas or the other terrorist groups operating in Gaza would respect a ceasefire.

“And of course, I respect the UN secretary-general’s call for a ceasefire. We would all love to see the bloodshed cease, but we also have to be realistic about the fact that Hamas has demonstrated, as have the other terrorist organisations in Gaza demonstrated over and over and over again, a complete callousness towards human life, whether it be Israeli or Palestinian.”

As of this afternoon, more than 3,000 people are believed to have been killed in the Gaza strip, while 1,400 people in Israel have died.