Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain last month. “Because of a catastrophic failure of aid, we see starving babies, children too weak to stand — images that will stand with us for a lifetime,” Mr. Starmer said of the situation in Gaza on Tuesday.
Two government officials said Britain was actively weighing the recognition of a Palestinian state, in a shift driven by public pressure over starvation in Gaza.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain at President Trump’s golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, on Monday. Mr. Starmer, the officials said, resisted Palestinian state recognition in the past because he viewed it as a largely “performative” gesture.
Two government officials said Britain was actively weighing the recognition of a Palestinian state, in a shift driven by public pressure over starvation in Gaza.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain at President Trump’s golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, on Monday. Mr. Starmer, the officials said, resisted Palestinian state recognition in the past because he viewed it as a largely “performative” gesture.
Israel ended a truce in Gaza in March, hoping to break Hamas. The move has heightened suffering for Palestinians but achieved few, if any, Israeli goals.
After Israeli restrictions on aid, hunger has risen across Gaza. Doctors and nurses, struggling to find food themselves, lack the resources to stem the surge.
Hanin Barghouth with her 3-month-old daughter, Salam, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza this week. At birth, her doctor said, Salam weighed roughly 6.6 pounds, and three months later, she weighs only 8.8 pounds — at least three pounds underweight.
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates were expected to begin airdrops in the coming days, but experts warned that the bulk of necessary aid could come only by land.
Last year, the Jordanian Air Force dropped aid over northern Gaza. Israel said on Friday that it would soon allow countries to drop aid into the area, which is in a humanitarian crisis.
Some of Israel’s closest allies have stepped up criticism of its restrictions on aid to Gaza, where doctors and aid organizations say people are dying of starvation.
After 21 months of devastating conflict with Israel, Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians — the young, the old and the sick — are facing what aid groups say is impending famine.
Yousef, 6, who suffers from cerebral palsy and has severe malnutrition is held by his mother Samah Matar north of Gaza City on Thursday. He weighed 13kg before the war and now weighs 9kg.
More than 100 organizations, including Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders, added to growing calls for aid restrictions to be eased and the war to end.
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