𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Despite mounting international outrage over images of skeletal children and a surge in hunger-related deaths, humanitarian aid reaching Gaza remains dangerously insufficient and what little gets in rarely reaches those who need it most.

Israeli officials say they’ve allowed in hundreds of aid trucks this week – between 220 and 270 on Tuesday and Wednesday alone, a sharp increase from earlier months when as few as 70 entered daily.

But most of these trucks never make it to United Nations warehouses or official distribution sites.

Instead, nearly all are swarmed and stripped bare by desperate civilians and armed gangs along the roads. Witnesses describe scenes of chaos: people fighting, looting, even attacking drivers with knives or firearms.

Truck drivers say they’re threatened, beaten, and robbed and some Palestinians have been killed trying to grab aid.

With border crossings tightly restricted and aid convoys under constant threat, international donors have increasingly turned to airdrops. But this method is far from effective.

The UN and aid workers say airdrops account for only a fraction of what trucks can deliver.

Worse, many packages land in unsafe or inaccessible areas – some into the sea, forcing people to swim for soaked bags of flour. Others fall in places the Israeli military has ordered Palestinians to evacuate.

Arab nations have taken the unprecedented step of telling Hamas to lay down its arms and surrender control of Gaza.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt called for the terrorist group to “disarm” and disband. It is the first time these countries have condemned Hamas and demanded it play no part in the future of Palestine.

US president Donald Trump voiced concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling the situation “terrible” and questioning the effectiveness of US aid efforts.

His comments came as he was questioned on whether “ what’s taking place in Gaza is a genocide”.

“It’s terrible what’s occurring there. It’s a terrible thing. People are very hungry,” Mr Trump told reporters. “You know, the United States gave $60m for food and it’s a shame, because I don’t see the results of it. And we gave it to people that in theory are watching over it fairly closely. We wanted Israel to watch over it.”

Mr Trump’s remarks come as his envoys, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Mike Huckabee, continue their visit to the region.

The White House said on Thursday that special envoy Steve Witkoff and ambassador Mike Huckabee held a “very productive” meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials to discuss urgent humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting focused on accelerating food and aid delivery to the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart, and that’s why he sent Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis,” Ms Leavitt said.

According to the statement, Mr Witkoff and Mr Huckabee are scheduled to enter Gaza on Friday to inspect existing distribution sites, coordinate further aid delivery, and speak directly with local residents to assess the scale of the humanitarian crisis.

Their visit comes amid growing international concern over widespread hunger and deteriorating living conditions in Gaza, where aid agencies have repeatedly warned of severe access restrictions.

The statement Keir Starmer made on Tuesday announcing the government’s intention to recognise the state of Palestine sounded as if it had been drafted and re-drafted so many times that no one thought to check if it still made grammatical or logical sense.

Hence the initial confusion: did this mean Britain will recognise Palestine or not? The statement said the government would do so at the United Nations General Assembly in September “unless…” the Israeli government did four things. But one of the conditions listed was a commitment to a two-state solution, something to which Benjamin Netanyahu would never agree.

So it seemed clear that, whatever the deliberate ambiguities of the rest of the statement, recognition would be going ahead in September. It was a victory for those members of the cabinet who had been pushing for it – David Lammy, Shabana Mahmood, Yvette Cooper, Wes Streeting and others – with the support of the silent majority of Labour MPs.