UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy delivered a statement in the House of Commons addressing the situation in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, announcing new humanitarian and diplomatic measures.
Lammy opened his remarks by referring to what he called a "man-made famine" in Gaza, citing a UN-backed IPC report that claimed famine had been confirmed in Gaza City and surrounding areas. He alleged that more than 300 people have died from malnutrition since July, including 119 children, and warned that over 132,000 children under five were at risk of hunger-related deaths by next year.
Lammy strongly condemned Israel for what he described as blocking sufficient humanitarian aid and said that in recent months, “Over two thousand Gazans have been killed trying to feed their families.” He added that Hamas was deliberately starving Israeli hostages for political purposes.
Outlining steps taken by the UK government, Lammy said Britain has restored funding to UNRWA, suspended certain arms exports, sanctioned what he termed "violent settlers and far-right Israeli ministers," and halted trade negotiations with Israel. He announced an additional £15 million in aid and medical support for Gaza and the wider region, including funding for UK-Med field hospitals and WHO programs in Egypt. He also confirmed that arrangements were being made to transfer critically ill children from Gaza to the UK for treatment, pending Israeli approval.
On the political track, Lammy repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire, tied to the unconditional release of hostages, increased aid access, and the disarmament of Hamas. He reaffirmed Britain’s intention to move toward recognition of a Palestinian state, unless Israel makes what he described as substantive steps toward peace. He linked this commitment to the historic Balfour Declaration, saying that Palestinian rights were now “more under threat than at any point in the past century.”
Lammy also addressed Iran, confirming that the UK, alongside France and Germany, had triggered the UN Security Council’s snapback mechanism that could restore full sanctions, including an arms embargo, due to Tehran’s violations of the nuclear deal. He urged Iran to return to compliance but warned that Britain would not allow the matter to fall off the international agenda.
In closing, Lammy pledged that the UK would continue pressing for a ceasefire in Gaza, the return of hostages, and long-term security in the region.
The IPC report cited by Lammy has been firmly rejected by Israeli officials and experts, who presented detailed findings of methodological flaws and fabricated data. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the IPC added fictitious deaths to meet famine criteria and ignored survey results that showed no famine conditions. COGAT, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, issued a counter-report highlighting reliance on biased sources and omission of Israel’s facilitation of tens of thousands of aid trucks into Gaza. The Prime Minister’s Office condemned the IPC publication as “an outright lie” and “a modern blood libel,” stressing that more than 101,000 aid trucks carrying two million tons of supplies have entered Gaza since October 7—equivalent to more than one ton per resident.