The leaders of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Britain affirmed their support for Israel and its right to defend itself on Sunday evening, but they also urged it to adhere to international humanitarian law and protect civilians.

In a joint statement issued after a phone call initiated by U.S. President Joe Biden with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the leaders also welcomed the release of "two hostages" and called for the immediate release of all detainees.

The Western leaders also announced their commitment to work with partners in the region to prevent the expansion of the conflict.

The White House indicated that Biden had earlier on Sunday made a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also spoke with Pope Francis and discussed "the need to prevent escalation in the region and work towards achieving lasting peace in the Middle East."

Netanyahu stated that French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will visit Israel this week.

Earlier this month, the leaders of the United States, Germany, Britain, France, and Italy issued a joint statement expressing their "steadfast and united support" for Israel and condemned the attacks carried out by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), describing them as "appalling acts of terrorism."

The United States has already deployed a significant naval force to the Middle East recently, including aircraft carriers and their accompanying ships, along with about two thousand Marines, to help deter any attacks by Iran-backed forces.