Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Hamas for recent failures to agree a hostage deal in Gaza. It comes as the UK says it will recognise the state of Palestine in September unless Israel acts to end the famine. Follow the latest.
Tuesday 29 July 2025 17:46, UK
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sir Keir Starmer’s announcement that the UK plans to recognise Palestinian statehood in September is likely to elicit a “very strong and very negative reaction” from Israel, Sky News correspondent Sally Lockwood says.
Speaking from Jerusalem, Lockwood says the “furious” reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over France’s decision to recognise the state of Palestine suggests a similar response will be coming London’s way.
“When other countries have made these moves, like France, Israel has said that it rewards terrorism and that it threatens to create another Iranian proxy – a state that would want to annihilate Israel,” Lockwood says.
“So it’s fair to say this will have a very negative reaction here from the Israeli government.”
She adds that it seems that Israel and its traditional allies are now moving in opposite directions in terms of their plans for how to create peace in Gaza.
“It’s very hard at that moment to see how these two sides will reach any sort of agreement when it comes to the future of Palestinians in this region.”
The decision to recognise Palestine as a state is mostly symbolic, but comes amid growing international pressure to end what the UN has described as a “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.
Out of the 193 UN member states, more than 140 already recognise Palestine as a state.
That includes Russia, China and India, as well as more than a dozen in Europe, including Spain, Ireland and Norway.
But until last Thursday, when France joined the list, no G7 country had committed to it.
David Lammy is now speaking in New York at the UN’s two-state solution summit.
The British foreign secretary says the two-state solution is “in peril” as the situation in Gaza “continues to worsen”.
Lammy says the UK’s support for Israel remains “steadfast”, but says a “historical injustice continues to unfold” when it comes to Palestine.
He says the Balfour Declaration, signed by Britain’s then foreign secretary Arthur Balfour 108 years ago endorsing aspirations for an Israeli Jewish state, came with the solemn promise that nothing would be done “which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the Palestinian people”.
He says this has “not been upheld, and it is a historical injustice which continues to unfold”.
‘Netanyahu government is wrong’
Lammy says the rejection of the two-state solution by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “wrong”.
“It’s wrong morally, and it’s wrong strategically. It harms the interests of the Israeli people. Closing off the only path to a just and lasting peace.”
He says this is why the UK – “with the hand of history on our shoulders” – intends to recognise the state of Palestine in September.
Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is continuing its efforts to release hostages being held in Gaza, despite the “refusal” of Hamas.
Posting on X, he says the Israeli negotiating team “haven’t stopped trying” to secure a deal since returning from Qatar last week when peace talks with Hamas broke down.
“There is one big obstacle, and everyone knows it – it’s Hamas,” Netanyahu says.
“It remains steadfast in its refusal. President Trump said it, [Steve] Witkoff said it, we say it, everyone who knows the facts, including the mediators, everyone knows it.
“We are not giving up. We will continue to do everything we can, one way or another. We are committed to their return.”
The British government has said it will officially recognise Palestine statehood in September.
Sir Keir Starmer has said that the UK will make this official before the UN General Assembly unless the Israeli government:
He says there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that UK demands on Hamas remain – that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept they will play no role in the government of Gaza and disarm.
In a statement, Starmer added that the first airdrops of British aid landed in Gaza today, containing “around half a million pounds worth of lifesaving supplies”.
Starmer says he hopes his deadline, which coincides with a UN meeting on 9 September, “plays a part in changing the conditions on the ground” by making sure that aid gets into Gaza.
He says it is part of an “eight part plan” that he has already discussed with France and Germany.
Starmer denies that the decision is a U-turn after pressure from Labour backbenchers – saying instead it was always part of the plan to recognise Palestine.
Oxfam says Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump will “fail humanity” if they do not act over the humanitarian crisis going on in Gaza.
The charity says the situation is “no longer about alarm bells” following today’s report from the IPC that “famine thresholds” have now been reached in most of Gaza (see 9.23 post).
“With President Trump still on British soil and the UK cabinet holding an emergency meeting today they no longer have time for equivocation or semantics,” Oxfam says, calling for “an end to the genocide”.
“Airdrops and brief pauses for meagre deliveries of aid are nowhere near enough to prevent starvation and death on the scale the world is now witnessing.”
The statement adds that recognition of Palestinian statehood from the UK would be a “welcome and overdue step in the right direction”.
As a reminder, the UN General Assembly is currently meeting for the second day of a two-state solution summit in New York, which you can watch using the stream at the top of this page.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is due to make a statement there at 4.30pm UK time. We’ll bring you live text updates here.
UN chief Antonio Guterres says it’s now “undeniable” that Gaza is now on the brink of famine following today’s report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.
The UN-backed food security body said famine thresholds have now been reached in most of Gaza, warning that “widespread starvation malnutrition and disease” were driving deaths.
“Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. This is not a warning. It is a reality unfolding before our eyes,” Guterres said.
“The trickle of aid must become an ocean. Food, water, medicine, and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction.
“This nightmare must end.”
By Alix Culbertson, political reporter
British Palestinians have called on Sir Keir Starmer to take “immediate, concrete” steps on Gaza instead of “focusing on a symbolic gesture” of recognising it as a state ahead of an emergency cabinet meeting.
The prime minister recalled his cabinet ministers from parliamentary recess for a meeting today where they planned to discuss what the UK’s next steps should be, after Sir Keir held meetings with Donald Trump yesterday.
Ahead of the cabinet meeting, the British Palestinian Committee (BPC), which represents the experiences of Palestinians in the UK, sent Sir Keir a letter urging him to take actions they say could make a real difference to people in Gaza.
The BPC said recognising Palestine as a state is now “symbolic” as it “will not end the genocide and must not be used to deflect from accountability”.
Food aid is still being parachuted into Gaza as aid agencies and countries hurry to make the most of the open skies while they last.
Yesterday, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said Israel’s military pause to allow aid into Gaza could only last “a few days”, making the next 48 hours “make or break”.
Sky News travelled from Jordan on a plane yesterday that dropped aid into Gaza.
Correspondent Sally Lockwood boarded the aircraft in Zarqa. Watch her report below…
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free