(ANSA-AFP) - LONDON, JUL 22 - Britain and 24 Western allies, including Australia, Canada, France and Italy, declared on Monday that the war in Gaza "must end now", arguing that civilians' suffering had "reached new depths". "We urge the parties and the international community to unite in a common effort to bring this terrible conflict to an end, through an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire," the grouping added in a joint statement. "Further bloodshed serves no purpose. We reaffirm our complete support to the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to achieve this." The signatories -- which also included Japan, several EU countries, Switzerland and New Zealand -- added they were "prepared to take further action to support an immediate ceasefire". The wide-ranging statement branded the controversial Israeli-supported relief effort in Gaza as "dangerous" and said it deprives Gazans of "human dignity". "We condemn the drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food," the statement said. "The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable," it added, urging Israel to "comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law". The statement called for the Israeli government "to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and to urgently enable the UN and humanitarian NGOs to do their life saving work safely and effectively". (ANSA-AFP).