UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to support Palestinian statehood as France announces it will formally recognize a Palestinian state in September. PM Starmer is expected to hold urgent talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz amid growing international scrutiny over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The announcement from Paris has been welcomed by Palestinian officials but condemned by both the United States and Israel. Washington has labeled the move “reckless,” while Israeli officials called it a “reward for terrorism.”
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour described the decision as a “huge announcement.” Israel, however, remains firm in its opposition. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a Palestinian state would serve as a “launchpad to eliminate Israel.”
France will become the most influential European Union member to take the step, following similar declarations by Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia earlier this year. France is also the first permanent member of the UN Security Council and G7 to make the recognition official.
Germany maintains that statehood should be the result of direct negotiations between Israel and Palestinians. The UK has not signaled any policy change. A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that Starmer would speak with Macron before any decisions are made.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated to what the UN’s refugee agency UNRWA describes as a system-wide collapse. Aid agencies have warned of mass starvation. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reports that one in four children and pregnant women screened in its clinics in Gaza is malnourished.
Gaza hospitals are overwhelmed. At al-Shifa Hospital, Medical Director Dr. Hassan al-Shaer reported a rise in malnutrition across all age groups. “We lack all the necessary supplies,” he said. The accounts from the ground are harrowing. Shahenaz Al Debs, a mother in Gaza, says her son Mosab, 14, dropped from 40kg to 10kg after being injured in an airstrike. “We cry out a hundred thousand times,” she told THE PRESS. “I die a thousand times a day.”
Journalists inside Gaza are also struggling. A local cameraman working with the press said he now often goes two days without food. “I used to work all day, but now I can barely do one story. I just feel dizzy,” he said. Another freelancer described how hunger has left his autistic son unable to understand what is happening around him, and how he now hits his stomach out of hunger.
Despite the withdrawal of Israeli and US teams from ceasefire talks in Doha, Hamas denies that negotiations have collapsed. According to one senior official, mediators have told Hamas that the Israeli delegation is expected to return soon. Hamas said in a statement it remains committed to the negotiations and is ready to work toward a ceasefire agreement.
The humanitarian toll at aid centers is rising. Over 1,000 people have been killed and 7,200 wounded while attempting to access food and supplies, MSF reported. Mohammed al-Qedra, a resident of southern Gaza, was shot in the leg and hand while collecting flour. “We know we might get killed, but we have to try,” he told the BBC. “I’m the sole provider for my family.”
Israel insists there are no restrictions on aid deliveries into Gaza. Yet, evidence from humanitarian agencies and eyewitness reports suggests aid is not reaching those in need. “There are two conflicting versions of reality,” one analyst explained. “Israel and the US say supplies are flowing. The UN and aid workers say they are blocked. The result, either way, is the same: people are starving.”
President Macron’s move is seen as a direct challenge to the Israeli government’s stance. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, from the Israeli far-right, responded by calling for full annexation of the West Bank, which Israel refers to as Judea and Samaria. His vision includes removing Palestinians from the occupied territories entirely.
Political reactions in France remain sharply divided. Leaders on the left, including Jean-Luc Mélenchon and Marine Tondelier, welcomed Macron’s pledge. Right-wing politicians, including Marine Le Pen, criticized the decision as “a mistake,” equating recognition with endorsing Hamas.
As Gaza humanitarian crisis continues to loom and ceasefire prospects hang in the balance, pressure is growing on Western powers including the UK to take a clearer position.
UK PM Starmer has previously said the UK would only recognize a Palestinian state when it could have the “greatest impact.” For now, his next steps will be closely watched by both allies and critics.
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