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A mother has told the BBC that she struggles to feed her two-month-old daughter and asks that her baby is taken out of Gaza for medical treatment.

Speaking from Nasser Hospital, Yasmeen Abu Sultan says her daughter weighed 2.7kg (6lbs) and now she weighs 2.6kg.

Yasmeen also suffered from malnutrition herself whilst pregnant and says she has no proper way of nourishing her baby.

Watch her interview below:

Phil Rosenberg, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, has described new measures by Israel to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as "essential if long overdue".

His comments come after the Board of Deputies, largest body representing Jewish people in the UK, convened a "special meeting" to discuss the "humanitarian situation" in Gaza on Tuesday evening.

"We need to see a rapid, uninhibited and sustained increase in aid through all available channels, and we need to see all agencies cooperating in this endeavour," Rosenberg says in a statement posted to X.

"As we have been saying for months, food must not be used as a weapon of war."

He also calls for "the release of all remaining hostages, the removal of Hamas, and the need to work towards lasting peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians and the wider Middle East".

Earlier we reported more than 100 aid lorries entered Gaza yesterday, but very few reached their destination because they were looted after they crossed the border.

But according to the Israeli military body Cogat, which co-ordinates the entry of aid into Gaza, more than 220 aid lorries entered Gaza on Tuesday and are "now awaiting collection and distribution".

Cogat says over 200 lorries were collected and distributed yesterday.

On top of these lorries, Cogat says four fuel tankers for humanitarian operations and 52 pallets of aid - via air drops in cooperation with Jordan and the UAE - also entered Gaza.

We can now bring you a statement from Israel's Hostages and Missing Families Forum, whose loved ones were taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023 during its attack on southern Israel.

The group says they've seen "an increase in initiatives calling for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state - all while 50 hostages have been held captive by Hamas for 663 days".

In the group's view, recognising a Palestinian state while hostages are still in Gaza "amounts to rewarding terrorism".

It says diplomatic recognition in these circumstances is "not a step toward peace" but instead a "clear violation of international law and a dangerous moral and political failure that legitimizes horrific war crimes".

"The abduction of men, women, and children, who are being held against their will in tunnels while subjected to starvation and physical and psychological abuse, cannot and should not serve as the foundation for establishing a state.

"The essential first step toward ensuring a better future for all peoples must be the release of all hostages through a single, comprehensive deal," the group adds.

• Of the 50 hostages being held in Gaza, 20 are believed to be alive. In total, 251 hostages were taken on the 7 October attacks; 148 have been returned or rescued alive. One hostage in Gaza was taken before the 7 October attacks.

Image source, EPA

More than 100 international aid organisations and human rights groups have warned of mass starvation in the Gaza Strip, while yesterday a group of UN-backed global food security experts said the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" in the territory.

Israel imposed a total blockade of aid deliveries at the start of March and resumed its military offensive against Hamas two weeks later, collapsing a two-month ceasefire.

Although the blockade was partially eased after almost two months following famine warnings, shortages of food, medicine and fuel have worsened.

Alongside the US, Israel has set up a new system of distributing aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), intended to replace the aid network run by the United Nations.

The UN and other aid agencies will not cooperate with the GHF system, which they say is inhumane and militarised. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been shot dead looking for food since the GHF operation began in May, according to the UN.

Israel has responded to growing international pressure by announcing a series of measures it said would "improve the humanitarian response" - including dangerous air drops of aid, a "tactical pause in military activity" in some areas and the establishment of "designated humanitarian corridors".

But the Israeli government also denies that it has been blocking aid, as well as disputes that there is starvation in Gaza. It blames the UN for failing to collect and distribute aid that is available.

And while 115 aid lorries were allowed into Gaza yesterday, the UK has said at least 500 trucks a day will be needed to reverse the starvation currently unfolding there.

Image source, Getty Images

Emily Thornberry, chair of the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Select Committee, says the government's plans to recognise a Palestinian state are "great news".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she says: "I'm so pleased that we finally got there".

"This is a major change in British foreign policy and it is absolutely the right thing to do," Thornberry adds, saying that the UK can "get onto the front foot".

Thornberry echoed the government's position that Hamas has to leave Gaza as "they have no future" there.

"The Israeli Defense Forces also need to leave, there needs to be a Gaza without Hamas and without the IDF and with some form of future and hope for the people of Palestine."

Speaking about UK-Israel relations, Thornberry says the two countries are long-term allies and will remain so, but "not with this far-right government, not with the way it is behaving".

Image source, Getty Images

Shadow foreign minister Priti Patel says the government's move towards recognising a Palestinian state right now "is clearly just an appeasement policy" for Labour MPs.

The Conservative MP tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a Palestinian state recognition "is only meaningful if it's part of a formal peace process, and we're not even at the start of that process".

Asked whether there is any military justification for Israel's current operations in Gaza, she says "we have to remember why Israel are there".

"They want to get their hostages back and they want to defeat Hamas."

Patel also accuses the government of not having a plan to get rid of Hamas from Gaza and "actually deal with the terrorist issue around Hamas that's caused so much destabilisation".

After the UK announced its intention to recognise a Palestinian state yesterday, Benjamin Netanyahu posted a fiercely-worded denunciation of the British prime minister on social media.

"Starmer rewards Hamas's monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims. A jihadist state on Israel's border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW," Israel's prime minister said.

"Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen."

Image source, Reuters

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, PA

Accusations that the government has changed its position on a Palestinian state for political reasons are "just not true," the transport secretary says.

"This is about the Palestinian people," Heidi Alexander tells the Today programme.

She says her party has a "longstanding commitment" to "recognise the state of Palestine" as part of achieving a two-state solution.

Support for Palestinian statehood was in the Labour Party's 2024 manifesto, she says, adding she "voted for this" in Parliament in 2014.

"We believe that the moment is now in order to try to use this diplomatic lever to build international consensus so that when we get to the UN General Assembly in September we've tried, we've tried to do something in order to set this region on a different course," Alexander adds.

Emir Nader
Reporting from Jerusalem

Image source, Shutterstock

Keir Starmer says that Gaza needs at least 500 trucks of aid a day to reverse the unfolding starvation crisis.

Sources told the BBC that yesterday just 115 lorries entered. Six were for private enterprises, guarded by armed men - 109 trucks carried aid. Almost none of them reached their destination, being looted after they crossed the border.

In scenes that have become familiar, lorries carrying sacks of flour were overwhelmed by desperate crowds – some securing it for their families, others to sell it.

UN agencies say they’ve been able to coordinate the entry of more aid and are seeing fewer lorries blocked by the Israeli authorities – but their teams are still facing impediments.

They say the only way to make sure supplies make it to those who need it most is for Gaza to be flooded with aid.

Israel has insisted there are no restrictions on aid deliveries and that there is "no starvation".

Jeremy Bowen
International Editor

Keir Starmer's announcement that Britain will recognise Palestinian statehood is a major change in UK foreign policy.

The prime minister offered to postpone recognition if Israel took "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution".

Israel's immediate rejection of his statement meant that Starmer's speech writers can start work now on what he will say at the UN General Assembly in September. UK recognition of Palestine looks "irreversible," according to a senior British official.

He won't be expecting Britain's change of policy to produce an independent Palestinian state any time soon – from the perspective of many Israelis, the best time for it would be never – but the intention, diplomatic sources say, is to empower moderates on both sides, Israelis and Palestinians.

The British hope they can jolt them into believing that peace might be possible.

• Read Jeremy Bowen's full analysis

After an emergency Cabinet meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters that the UK will move to recognise Palestinian statehood in September, unless Israel meets certain conditions, including a ceasefire.

It's a move that echoes France, which has previously announced they will give recognition at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, welcomed the news, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it "rewards" Hamas.

While reactions continue to emerge, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains desperate as military activity continues. UN-backed global food security experts have warned famine is "currently playing out".

Today marks the final day of a three-day United Nations meeting, aimed at moving towards a two-state solution to the decades- long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The two-state solution is being brought back to life - at least in wordspublished at 22:30 BST 29 July

22:30 BST 29 July

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent

The UK's announcement adds to the growing international momentum to strengthen support for Palestinian statehood in the midst of growing outrage and alarm over the suffering in Gaza.

Last week, France became the first country from the UN Security Council, the first of the G7 group of industrialised nations, to join the dozens of countries which recognised the state of Palestine decades ago.

"Nothing can stand in the way of a just and clear idea", French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot declared on social media.

But a lot will: the current Israeli government’s staunch opposition, the current expansion of Israeli settlements in occupied West Bank - the biggest in decades on land which would form part of any Palestinian state - and right-wing Israeli ministers’ vows to expel Palestinians from Gaza.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy highlighted this "peril" earlier, while addressing the UN General Assembly.

Throughout this Gaza war, Arab leaders called for a vision which provides an alternative to the violence of Hamas and a path to peace and security for Palestinians, Israelis, and the entire region.

But before this war erupted, many had declared the two-state solution was dead. Now it’s being brought back to life, at least in words, as the world struggles to find a way forward in this darkest of times.

Hours ago, Keir Starmer convened an emergency cabinet meeting on Gaza - on the same day that a UN-backed hunger monitoring system said the region is facing the "worst-case scenario of famine”.

The British prime minister subsequently announced the UK would recognise Palestinian statehood in September - unless Israel meets a number of conditions in the coming months.

How has the news been received?

• Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu accused Starmer of “reward[ing]” Hamas, while Donald Trump said the US has "no view" on the issue
• In the UK, politicians had mixed views - some of Starmer's own MPs were pleased while some in other parties urged him to go further. Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said the PM should "recognise Palestine right away" rather than using it "as a bargaining chip"

What about the ceasefire negotiations?

• A senior Hamas official told the BBC negotiations would not continue while, in their words, the territory is under blockade and starvation
• Israel's PM has indicated similar - but accused Hamas of being the obstacle to any deal, external

And the latest on the ground?

• Israel's military said it's continuing to "improve the humanitarian response", external in Gaza after Netanyahu said over the weekend there was "no starvation"
• But a group of UN-backed experts warned today "mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths"
• The latest figures from the Hamas-run health ministry say more than 60,000 Palestinians have now been killed since Israel's military launched a campaign in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023

Back in London, the government says Keir Starmer has spoken to the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who "welcomed" his announcement that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire with Gaza - among other conditions.

According to the statement, the two leaders "condemned in the strongest terms the appalling suffering unfolding in Gaza".

• For context: The Palestinian Authority has limited governance powers in the parts of the occupied West Bank that are not under full Israeli control. It lost control of Gaza in 2007 to Hamas. The Palestinian Authority has long backed a two-state solution, but Hamas does not because it is opposed to the existence of Israel.

In our last post, we mentioned some of the conclusions reached on Gaza by a UN-backed body, including that famine was playing out in the territory.

Famine occurs when a country has such a severe food shortage that its population faces acute malnutrition, starvation, or death.

The status is generally declared by the United Nations (UN), sometimes in conjunction with the country's government, and often alongside other international aid organisations or humanitarian agencies.

It is decided using a UN scale called the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). This ranks a country's food shortages - or insecurity - against five "phases" of severity, with famine the fifth and worst, external.

For a famine to be officially declared, three things need to happen in a specific geographical area:

• at least 20% of households face an extreme lack of food
• at least 30% of children suffer acute malnutrition
• two adults or four children per 10,000 people die each day "due to outright starvation or to the interaction of malnutrition and disease"

Away from Keir Starmer's announcement that the UK could recognise a Palestinian state in September, we're seeing some of the latest images to come out of Gaza.

Earlier, a report published by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), warned that "humanitarian aid remains extremely restricted due to requests for humanitarian access being repeatedly denied and frequent security incidents".

It also said that the "the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip".

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected accusations of a starvation taking place in Gaza. Speaking on Sunday, he said "there is no starvation in Gaza".

The images below were taken earlier in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, where aid supplies were delivered today via trucks.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Earlier, Keir Starmer laid out specific conditions which he said Israel must meet by September - otherwise his government will recognise Palestinian statehood.

Those "substantive steps" that Israel must take include:

• Agreeing to a ceasefire
• Allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid
• Committing to a long-term peace process that "delivers a two-state solution"
• And guaranteeing that the occupied West Bank will not be annexed in the future

The prime minister also reiterated the demands that remain in place for Hamas, which are:

• Also agreeing to a ceasefire
• Releasing all the remaining hostages from the territory
• Accepting they will play no role in the government of Gaza
• And full disarmament

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's announcement.

"Starmer rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism & punishes its victims," reads a statement attributed to him on the official account of the Israeli prime minister., external

"A jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY will threaten Britain TOMORROW.

"Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails. It will fail you too. It will not happen."