The Lib Dems have called for Keir Starmer to deploy UK aid drops into Gaza amid starvation reports.
The operation would involve RAF planes supplying aid into Gaza from the air. Similar operations were undertaken by British pilots in Spring 2024, delivering hundreds of tonnes of aid to support humanitarian relief efforts in the Strip.
The call comes as over a hundred humanitarian organisations have warned that the population of Gaza is at risk of mass starvation as a result of the Israeli Government’s failure to comprehensively reopen aid supply routes across the occupied territory.
Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: “It is simply inhumane that the entire population of Gaza is at risk of starvation as a direct result of Israel’s aid blockade. The time for words is over – now we must act. That should include the UK Government conducting a fresh set of aid airdrops over Gaza.
“Aid delivered by the air is no substitute for the reopening of supply routes by land. But the extent of the humanitarian catastrophe we are now witnessing requires us to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get aid to Gazans.
“The prime minister should secure agreement from other international partners that they will follow the UK’s example and conduct their own airdrops. This must be alongside a redoubling of our collective effort to secure the total reopening of aid supply routes on the ground – the most effective and sustainable way to alleviate the suffering of Gazans.”
It comes as the head of the United Nations agency responsible for assisting Palestinian refugees has warned that aid workers in Gaza are collapsing from hunger, as starvation deaths continue to rise and ceasefire talks have stalled.
“This deepening crisis is affecting everyone, including those trying to save lives in the war-torn enclave … When caretakers cannot find enough to eat, the entire humanitarian system is collapsing,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), on Thursday.
At least 45 people have died of hunger in the past four days. The UN and humanitarian organisations blame Israel’s near-total blockade of aid into Gaza for the deepening food crisis.