Middle East latest: MP behind letter for Palestinian recognition warns ‘time is running out’ – as Starmer says UK will help with Gaza aid airdrops
Gaza latest
- Quarter of young children and pregnant women ‘malnourished’As pressure grows on UK leader to recognise Palestinian stateWith MP leading calls warning ‘time is running out’Explained: What recognising Palestinian state actually meansIsrael approves airdrops of aid into GazaBut UN agency chief says move is ‘smokescreen’Watch: British surgeon claims IDF shooting civiliansLive updates by Narbeh Minassian
12:00:01 Gaza airdrops a ‘distraction and smokescreen’ as UN agency chief demands ‘open the gates’
Airdrops will not reverse “deepening starvation” and can even kill Palestinians.
That’s the view of Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.
In a post shared moments ago responding to Israel’s greenlight for aid airdrops, he described the method as “expensive” and “inefficient”.
“It is a distraction & screensmoke,” he wrote on social media.
“A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates & guarantee safe movements + dignified access to people in need.”
He added the agency has the equivalent of 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt waiting for permission to enter Gaza.
11:45:02 We can’t afford delay to save ‘avoidable deaths’ in Gaza, says charity founder
As we reported earlier this morning, Sir Keir Starmer has said children who need specialist medical treatment will be evacuated from Gaza to the UK (see 11.04).
Project Pure Hope – an initiative trying to provide care for children caught up in conflict in the Middle East – has been calling for that very step for almost two years.
We caught up with the group’s co-founder, who told our presenter Gareth Barlow time is “absolutely of the essence”.
“We’re hopeful that we can avoid any further delay… 28 children die every day,” said Raza Halim.
“And the thing I want to emphasise is that these are avoidable deaths.
“We’re often watching our screens, reading the news, and feeling despair at the loss of life and the scale of the loss of life – but these are lives that can be saved.”
11:24:01 Hamas denies Trump’s claim they don’t want deal
Hamas has hit back at statements made by Donald Trump yesterday, when he said the militant group “really didn’t want to make a deal”.
“I think they want to die… and it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job,” he said, in remarks that appeared to leave little room to resume talks for a break in fighting.
Hamas said they were “appalled” by his statement, which they claim is “inconsistent with the actual progress of negotiations”.
“The American statements deliberately ignore the real obstructionist to all agreements – Netanyahu’s government – which continues to put obstacles, deceive, and evade commitments,” said Izzat al Rishq, a member of the group’s political arm.
“Since the beginning of negotiations, Hamas has engaged with full national responsibility and high flexibility, striving to reach a comprehensive agreement that ends the aggression and alleviates the suffering of our people in Gaza.”
In a separate statement, the Hamas-run media office warned that Palestinians are in dire need of infant formula, and demanded the “unconditional openings of crossings”.
11:04:20 UK will help Gaza aid airdrops, Starmer suggests, as PM condemns ‘appalling’ scenes
Pressure is growing on Sir Keir Starmer to recognise Palestinian statehood – see our 8.06 post – but the prime minister has so far rejected those calls.
Instead, his latest statement has focused on getting aid into Gaza.
In a video message shared on social media late last night, Sir Keir condemned scenes in Gaza as “appalling”.
“I know the British people are sickened by what is happening,” he said.
“The images of starvation and desperation are utterly horrifying.”
He added the “denial of aid to children and babies is completely unjustifiable”, just as the continued captivity of hostages cannot be defended.
“Hundreds of civilians have been killed while seeking aid – children, killed, whilst collecting water,” he said.
He also said the government is now “accelerating efforts” to evacuate children who need specialist treatment from Gaza to the UK.
And they will do “everything we can” to get supplies to the territory through airdrops, after Israel gave the greenlight for foreign countries to use this route – a decision Sir Keir said has come “far too late”.
10:25:01 MP behind letter for Palestinian recognition warns ‘time is running out’
The MP behind a letter of dozens of cross-party colleagues calling for recognition of a Palestinian state has told us time is “literally running out”.
Sarah Champion, who is chair of the International Development Select Committee, said urgency is growing among MPs.
Speaking to our presenter Leah Boleto, she said: “We need to be doing something now to recognise the State of Palestine alongside, it must be added, 144 other nations that have all recognised the State of Palestine.
“We have a historic relationship with the region alongside France.
“France has now come out and said that it will be recognising. Why are we not supporting our neighbour?”
She warned Israel’s occupations threaten to separate parts of Palestinian territory before a state can be formed.
“There are more and more MPs across the House that are urging the government to do this, this is democracy,” she added.
We explained earlier what recognition would mean in practice – see our 8.40 post.
Watch her remarks on Sky News below…
09:47:01 In pictures: Despair in Gaza as loved ones are mourned
A funeral was held in Gaza today for Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, according to medics.
These are some of the latest images from the territory over the past 24 hours.
09:15:05 Italy in favour of Palestinian state – but not yet
Recognising a Palestinian state before it is established could be counterproductive, Italy’s prime minister has said.
In comments to Italian daily La Repubblica today, Giorgia Meloni said she is “very much in favour” of a Palestinian state.
But she added: “If something that doesn’t exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn’t.”
Yesterday, the country’s foreign minister said recognition must happen simultaneously with recognition of Israel by the new Palestinian state.
08:40:21 Explained: What recognising Palestinian state actually means
As we’ve been reporting, France is set to become the first major Western power to recognise Palestine as a state.
It’s raised the pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to do the same for the UK, even as Donald Trump dismisses the significance.
But what does recognition actually mean here?
The decision to recognise Palestine as a state is mostly symbolic, but it does come amid growing international pressure to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Out of the 193 UN member states, 144 already recognise Palestine as a state.
That includes Russia, China and India, as well as more than a dozen in Europe, such as Spain, Ireland and Norway.
But until Thursday, no G7 country had committed to it – now France has.
Watch: Why France is recognising Palestine as a state
Two-state solution
French President Emmanuel Macron has been leaning towards recognition for months, as part of a bid to keep the idea of a two-state solution alive.
A two-state solution would see an independent Palestine established alongside the existing state of Israel – giving both their own territory.
The Palestinians seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank, annexed east Jerusalem and Gaza – territories that have been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and most of Israel’s political class have long been opposed to Palestinian statehood.
They argue it would reward militants after the 7 October attacks launched by Hamas in 2023.
One of the biggest obstacles to a two-state solution would be deciding what the borders of a potential Palestinian state would be.
Many believe they should be the same ones that existed before 1967.
But, since then, increasing numbers of Israeli settlements have been established inside the West Bank, with around 600,000 Israelis now living there and in occupied East Jerusalem.
08:13:01 Watch: British surgeon claims IDF shooting civilians ‘almost like target practice’
A British surgeon who recently returned from Gaza told us this week there is “profound malnutrition” among the population.
He even claimed IDF soldiers are shooting civilians at aid points “almost like a game of target practice”.
Dr Nick Maynard spent four weeks working inside Nasser Hospital, where a lack of food has left medics struggling to treat children and toddlers.
The IDF categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians.
Watch what he had to say on The World with Yalda Hakim in the clip below…
08:10:01 Israel to allow airdrops of aid as starvation spreads in Gaza
International aid organisations have been warning of mass hunger among Gaza’s 2.2 million people.
They say stocks are running out after Israel cut off all supplies to the territory in March, then reopened it in May with new restrictions.
Amid growing concern, the Israeli military said yesterday it has agreed to let countries airdrop aid into Gaza, a move Hamas dismissed as a stunt.
“The Gaza Strip does not need flying aerobatics, it needs an open humanitarian corridor and a steady daily flow of aid trucks,” said Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office.
Israel insists it has let enough food into Gaza and accuses the UN of failing to distribute it.
The UN says it is operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions.