Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed the UK is collaborating with Jordan on an emergency plan to deliver aid into Gaza by air, as pressure builds at home and abroad for his government to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
A team of British military planners and logisticians has been deployed to support Jordanian efforts, following Israel’s decision on Friday to allow foreign nations to airdrop humanitarian supplies into the besieged enclave. The move comes amid growing international alarm over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Speaking in The Mirror, Starmer acknowledged the response has come “far too late” but vowed the UK would do “everything we can” to ensure life-saving aid is delivered. “We are already working urgently with the Jordanian authorities to get British aid onto planes and into Gaza,” he said. He also announced plans to accelerate the evacuation of critically ill children from Gaza for medical treatment in the UK.
On social media, the prime minister reiterated the UK’s commitment, stating, “This humanitarian catastrophe must end. We will pull every lever to deliver food and medical support to Palestinians in need.”
Downing Street also confirmed that Starmer had held further talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The leaders urged Israel to lift restrictions on aid and backed “robust plans” to transform any potential ceasefire into lasting peace.
Calls for the UK to take a stronger stance on Palestinian statehood are also intensifying. On Friday, more than 220 MPs from across nine political parties—over half of them Labour—signed a joint letter urging the government to recognise a Palestinian state. They argued it would send a “powerful message” in support of a two-state solution.
Starmer has maintained that such recognition must be part of a wider roadmap toward peace, though Labour MP Sarah Champion, who organised the letter, warned time is running out. “We really need to do it while there is the possibility of there being a state of Palestine,” she told BBC Radio 4.
In contrast, Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar denounced the move as a “prize for terror” in the wake of the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.
While the UK and other nations pursue airdrops as a short-term measure, aid agencies and UN officials have criticised the strategy as insufficient. The World Food Programme reported that nearly one in three Gazans go days without food, with 90,000 women and children urgently requiring treatment for malnutrition.
Aid drops have also raised safety concerns. In March, five people were killed when a parachute failed to deploy during an airdrop, while another 12 drowned trying to retrieve supplies dropped at sea.
The UK has previously joined Jordan in air-dropping supplies to northern Gaza, and the RAF has delivered over 100 tonnes of aid in 11 flights between March and May this year. However, Jordanian officials said this week they are still waiting for Israeli clearance for the latest round of drops.
Despite Israeli denials of a siege, aid access remains heavily restricted. The UN has accused Israel of using airdrops as a “distraction to inaction,” while the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate on the ground.
