Military pause not enough to ease Gaza suffering, Lammy warns
He said Israel's announcement that it would suspend fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day and open secure routes for aid delivery to desperate Palestinians was 'essential but long overdue.'
'This announcement alone cannot alleviate the needs of those desperately suffering in Gaza,' the Foreign Secretary said in a statement on Sunday.
'We need a ceasefire that can end the war, for hostages to be released and aid to enter Gaza by land unhindered.
'Whilst airdrops will help to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid into Gaza.
'These measures must be fully implemented and further barriers on aid removed. The world is watching.'
Britain is working with Jordan to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance, with military planners deployed for further support.
However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency has warned that such efforts are 'a distraction' that will fail to properly address deepening starvation in the strip, and could in some cases harm civilians.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said: 'A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will.
'Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.'
On Sunday, Israel announced military pauses to enable the 'safe movement' of food and medicine to Gaza via designated UN convoys amid mounting international alarm at humanitarian conditions in the strip.
Images emerging from Gaza in recent days of emaciated children have seen the country's government criticised for its conduct during the 21-month war.
Food experts have warned for months of the risk of famine as Israel continued to restrict aid, which it says is because Hamas siphons off goods.
Ceasefire talks between the two sides ground to a standstill this week after the US and Israel withdrew negotiating teams from Qatar, with White House special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire' to reach an agreement.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to press Donald Trump on the revival of talks as he meets the US President during his visit to Scotland on Monday.
The deal under discussion was expected to include a 60-day ceasefire, and aid supplies would be ramped up as conditions for a lasting truce were brokered.
Sir Keir will raise Washington's work with partners in Qatar and Egypt during his talks with Mr Trump and seek to discuss what more can be done to urgently bring about a ceasefire, it is understood.
Later in the week he will chair a Cabinet meeting, with further updates on the UK's next steps expected in the coming days as Mr Lammy prepares to attend a UN conference on a two-state solution in New York.
Speaking to broadcasters on Sunday, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray acknowledged that airdrops come with 'real limits and drawbacks' but that the situation was 'desperate and urgent.'
'Until the restrictions are lifted, until aid is able to get in at the scale and quantity that is needed, we need to be doing everything we possibly can to help,' he told Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips show.
It comes after the Prime Minister held crisis talks with French and German counterparts on Saturday, during which Number 10 said they agreed 'it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'.
A Downing Street readout of the call made no mention of Palestinian statehood, which Sir Keir has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would do so in September.
Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to follow suit at a UN meeting next week.
The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs.
#Gaza: airdrops will not reverse the deepening starvation. They are expensive, inefficient & can even kill starving civilians.It is a distraction & screensmoke.
A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates & guarantee safe movements…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 26, 2025
The Government says it is a question of 'when, not if' statehood is recognised but that its immediate focus should be on getting aid into the territory.
Mr Murray said on Sunday: 'As a Government, we're committed to the recognition of Palestine, but we need to work with international partners and we need to use that moment to galvanise change.
'It needs to be part of a pathway to peace.'
He added: '140 countries have already recognised Palestine.
'The suffering is still continuing.'
Sir Keir and Mr Trump, who is in South Ayrshire on a private visit to his Turnberry golf course, are expected to meet on Monday.
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Israel has agreed to support a "one-week scale-up of aid" in Gaza - but the United Nations has warned more action is needed to "stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis". UN aid chief Tom Fletcher made the remarks as Israel began limited pauses in fighting across three areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day to address the worsening humanitarian situation. Israel cut off all supplies to Gaza's population from the start of March. It then reopened aid centres with new restrictions in May, but said the supply had to be controlled to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas militants. On Saturday, reports referencing US government data said there was no evidence Hamas had stolen aid from UN agencies. Images of emaciated Palestinian children have led to widespread criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza, including by allies who are calling for an end to the war. Mr Fletcher said one in three people in Gaza "hasn't eaten for days" and "children are wasting away". He added: "We welcome Israel's decision to support a one-week scale-up of aid, including lifting customs barriers on food, medicine and fuel from Egypt and the reported designation of secure routes for UN humanitarian convoys. "Some movement restrictions appear to have been eased today, with initial reports indicating that over 100 truckloads were collected. "This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis. Across the UN agencies and humanitarian community, we are mobilised to save as many lives as we can." The Israel Defence Forces said yesterday that it is halting military operations in Muwasi, Deir al Balah and Gaza City daily from 10am to 8pm local time (8am to 6pm UK time) until further notice. Combat operations have continued outside of this 10-hour window. Health officials in Gaza said Israeli strikes killed at least 41 Palestinians overnight into Sunday morning, including 26 seeking aid. In a statement, the IDF said it would also establish secure routes to help the UN and aid agencies deliver food and other supplies. Israel's announcement of what it calls a "tactical pause" in fighting comes after it resumed airdrops of aid into Gaza. While the IDF reiterated claims there is "no starvation" in the territory, it said the airdrops would include "seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar and canned food to be provided by international organisations". Palestinian sources confirmed that aid had begun dropping in northern parts of the territory. Sabreen Hasson, a Palestinian mother who travelled to an aid point near the Zikim crossing to collect supplies, said: "I came to get flour for my children because they have not tasted flour for more than a week, and thank God, God provided me with a kilo of rice with difficulty." But Samira Yahda, who was in Zawaida in central Gaza, said: "We saw the planes, but we didn't see what they dropped... they said trucks would pass, but we didn't see the trucks." Another Palestinian told the AP news agency that some people feared going out and having a box of aid fall on their children. 1:19 Gaza is expected to be a focus during talks Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump in Scotland today. Downing Street said Sir Keir will raise "what more can be done to secure the ceasefire [in the Middle East] urgently", during the meeting at the US president's Turnberry golf course in Ayrshire. Reports also suggest the prime minister is planning to interrupt the summer recess and recall his cabinet to discuss the crisis on Tuesday. Talks in Qatar over a ceasefire ended on Thursday after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiating teams. 2:02 Mr Trump blamed Hamas for the collapse of negotiations as he left the US for Scotland, saying the militant group "didn't want to make a deal... they want to die". Meanwhile the exiled head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al Hayya, has warned ceasefire negotiations with Israel were "meaningless under continued blockade and starvation". In a recorded speech, he added: "The immediate and dignified delivery of food and medicine to our people is the only serious and genuine indication of whether continuing the negotiations is worthwhile." 0:51 During a meeting with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, Mr Trump emphasised the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza. He said: "They don't want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision. 1:17 "I know what I'd do, but I don't think it's appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision," he said. Mr Trump also repeated claims, without evidence, that Hamas was stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
