REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware – US President Joe Biden convened a call on Sunday with the leaders of Canada, France, Britain, Germany and Italy on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

He spoke with them after separate calls with Pope Francis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The calls came amid growing fears the war could mushroom into a wider Middle East conflict.

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, when Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 people in an attack on southern Israel.

Israel’s retaliatory action has killed more than 4,600 people in the enclave.

Clashes have also intensified on the border between Israel and Lebanon.

It is not immediately clear why Mr Biden’s call with the Western leaders did not include Japan. Together, those countries form the Group of Seven (G-7) advanced economies.

G-7 finance ministers met in Morocco earlier in October and issued a statement.

Mr Biden convened a virtual meeting of the G-7 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Mr Biden and the Pope discussed “the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work towards a durable peace in the Middle East”, the White House said.

The Vatican earlier said the call, which lasted about 20 minutes, “focused on conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace”. REUTERS