Starmer to raise Gaza situation in Trump meeting

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to raise the situation in Gaza when he meets US President Donald Trump in Scotland on Monday.

Sir Keir is likely to welcome US efforts to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza, and discuss what more can be done to urgently get it in place.

Previous talks over a ceasefire and hostage release scheme in Qatar came to a halt this week after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams.

Israel is facing mounting pressure from many of its allies, with aid agencies warning of mass starvation having previously criticised plans to drop supplies into Gaza by air.

Israel said on Sunday morning that it had dropped seven packages containing sugar, flour and canned food into Gaza, with the UAE, Jordan and Egypt in the process of delivering aid by land and air - but agencies say this is a fraction of what is needed to address malnutrition.

Sir Keir will convene the cabinet in the coming week, while Parliament is in recess, to discuss the ongoing situation in Gaza.

It comes after he confirmed his government was working with Jordan to drop aid into the territory and was "urgently accelerating efforts" to evacuate children who needed critical medical assistance to the UK.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Sunday, government minister James Murray said the situation in Gaza was "utterly horrifying and appalling".

"Starvation, access to food, must never be used as a means of war. It's completely unjustifiable and it must end," he said.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that while airdrops would help "alleviate the worst of the suffering", Israel must allow "unhindered" access for aid lorries as they are the "only viable and sustainable" way to get sufficient supplies to people.

At least 127 people in Gaza have died from malnutrition since the war began, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza at the start of March in an 11-week blockade. It resumed distributing aid on 27 May with the new and controversial US-Israeli backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The GHF system has been widely criticised for forcing vast numbers of people to walk through active combat zones to a handful of sites.

More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed trying to retrieve food aid from GHF sites since it began, according to the UN. Israel claims the new distribution system stops aid from reaching Hamas and denies restrictions are in place.

Meanwhile, Trump touched down in Scotland on Friday and has been playing golf at his course in Turnberry, South Ayrshire, where he is also expected to meet EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday.

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney is also scheduled to hold a meeting with the US president during his short trip.

Last week, Trump said Hamas "didn't really want to make a deal" on a new Gaza ceasefire deal.

In his statement announcing the withdrawal of the US team from Doha, US envoy Steve Witkoff said: "Hamas does not appear to be co-ordinated or acting in good faith.

"We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza."

Sir Keir has come under pressure from home and abroad to recognise a Palestinian state, after French President Emmanuel Macron committed to doing so within months and more than a third of MPs signed a letter calling on the British government to do the same.

The SNP has also said it plans to introduce a bill in September to force a vote on statehood.

On Sunday, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said the Tories had "always supported" a two-state solution - a political settlement based on two separate states that protect the rights of Palestinians and the security of Israelis.

But she said now was not the right time to recognise a Palestinian state as it would "reward" Hamas after "carrying out one of the worst atrocities in recent memory".

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 59,676 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.