THE Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global hunger monitoring system, warns the “worst-case scenario of famine” is now unfolding in Gaza as Israel blocks vital aid.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told his cabinet that the United Kingdom will recognise the state of Palestine by September unless Israel takes “substantive steps” to end its war on Gaza and commits to a lasting peace process.
According to a government statement issued after an emergency cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Starmer said the move could come before the United Nations General Assembly in New York unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire, halts plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, and supports a political path towards a two-state solution.
“[Starmer] reiterated that there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our demands on Hamas remain, that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza, and disarm,” the statement added.
Starmer interrupted ministers’ summer holidays to discuss a draft European-led peace initiative and plans to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, where the UN has warned of looming famine.
While past UK governments have supported Palestinian statehood “when the time is right”, none has publicly tied it to a specific deadline or laid out preconditions so explicitly.
Israel criticised the UK following the announcement, calling it a “reward for Hamas” that would only undermine diplomatic efforts to end the war on Gaza.
In a statement posted on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry claimed the UK’s move would damage any chance of a new ceasefire. Israel broke the last negotiated ceasefire in March.
More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on the Strip as medical sources say Israeli forces killed at least 81 people across Gaza since dawn, including 32 aid seekers.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 60,034 people and wounded 145,870 others. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack and more than 200 taken captive.
