British Prime Minister Tony Blair is flying out to Washington DC, USA for urgent talks with President Bush on the Middle East crisis.
The visit to the White House comes as pressure continues to increase on the UK and US to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.Blair has also come under escalating pressure as claims emerged that US planes were given permission to use a Scottish airport to transport bombs to Israel; which has sparked anger among Cabinet members. Backbench Labour MPs are now increasingly urging Mr Blair to put aside his refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire.
The UK government has stated that it wants to achieve a lasting peace, not something which only stands for a few days.
At a news conference on Monday, with Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, Mr Blair said of the crisis: "It will not stop on both sides unless there is a plan to make it stop and that's what we are working on urgently."
As the debate over whether a ceasefire should be called for, Christians worldwide have expressed their horror at the number of civilian injuries and fatalities.
The Langham Partnership has released a statement this week saying: “It is all terribly troubling to see the awful onslaught on Lebanon and the scale of destruction and death there and in Israel. We have been able to be in contact with several of our Langham Scholars in the region, and the battles are having a fearful effect on their families.”
The statement continued: “One of our scholars and his family have managed to get to out of the region, since the shelling was uncomfortably close to where they live in Lebanon. Another scholar had only just gone to the USA for some study, before it all began, and is now separated from his family. Others seem to still be in the conflict zones. We have contacted all of them with words of support and prayer, and hoping they will find it possible to keep in touch.”
