Keir Starmer has called the ‘starvation’ in Gaza ‘indefensible’, adding that the Palestinian people have an ‘inalienable’ right to a state.
The Prime Minister said the situation has ‘reached new depths and continues to worsen’ while urging Israel to change course.
In a statement shared on social media, he called for ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict that would establish a path to Palestinian statehood.
Starmer’s intervention came at the same time French President Emmanuel Macron announced his intention to recognise a Palestinian state.
The French President said he will make the declaration at the United Nations General Assembly in September.
The pair are due to hold emergency talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about the crisis in Gaza on Friday.
More than 100 international aid organisations have warned of targeted ‘mass starvation’ in the enclave.
Photos of starving Palestinians, some of them babies, have emerged from Gaza in the past weeks, sparking public outcry for intervention in the conflict, which is about to enter its third year.
Israel has denied any responsibility for what experts have deemed a famine, despite controlling the flow of all aid into the enclave.
In a post on social media, Keir Starmer said: ‘The suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible. We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe.
‘I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace.
‘We all agree on the pressing need for Israel to change course and allow the aid that is desperately needed to enter Gaza without delay.’
Starmer also called for Hamas to release Israeli hostages and said he supported negotiations efforts from the US, Qatar and Egpyt.
He added: ‘We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.’
Macron went a step further, confirming he would recognise a Palestinian state in order to achieve a ‘just and lasting peace in the Middle East’.
Macron said in a statement on X: ‘I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine.
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‘I will make the solemn announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next September. The urgency today is to end the war in Gaza and to provide aid to the civilian population. Peace is possible.’
The French President said he had written to the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas to confirm his plans to recognise the State of Palestine.
More than 140 countries currently recognise a Palestinian state, including more than a dozen in Europe.
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