Britain, France and Germany have demanded Israel “immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid” into Gaza to ease the hunger crisis.
“The humanitarian catastrophe that we are witnessing in Gaza must end now,” Sir Keir said in a joint statement with German chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron.
The three leaders held discussions on the crisis in Gaza amid growing fears of mass starvation in the territory.
In their statement they said: “The most basic needs of the civilian population, including access to water and food, must be met without any further delay.
“Withholding essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.
“We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on the flow of aid and urgently allow the UN and humanitarian NGOs to carry out their work in order to take action against starvation. Israel must uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law.”
Sir Keir is under increasing pressure after 221 MPs from across different political parties joined forces to call on the government to recognise a Palestinian state.
France’s decision to recognise Palestinian statehood has also piled pressure on the prime minister to follow suit, and has led to divisions within the cabinet.
Sir Keir said such a move needed to be part of the “pathway” to peace in the Middle East, which he and his allies are working towards.
“That pathway will set out the concrete steps needed to turn the ceasefire so desperately needed, into a lasting peace,” he said.
“Recognition of a Palestinian state has to be one of those steps. I am unequivocal about that. But it must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.”
Israel has said that foreign countries can now provide aid to Gaza – but the UK has called on Israel to work with the UN and others to facilitate a surge in supplies.
Sir Keir hit out at the “appalling” and “unrelenting” scenes in Gaza.
“The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel’s disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible,” he said.
There is speculation within Labour that Sir Keir may go ahead with recognition of Palestine only after meeting Donald Trump in Scotland on Monday, to ensure the bilateral talks are not derailed by the issue.
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood, who came close to losing her seat to a pro-Gaza independent MP in last year’s general election, and several other cabinet ministers are understood to want immediate recognition of Palestine as a state.
Scottish first minister John Swinney has urged the government to recognise Palestine, saying he believed it to be the only way to work towards a two-state solution in the region.
Meanwhile, Israel is considering “alternative options” to ceasefire talks with Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday after Israel and the US recalled their peace negotiating teams.
The Israeli PM’s statement came as a Hamas official said negotiations were expected to resume next week and portrayed the recall of the Israeli and US delegations as a pressure tactic.
“Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal,” Mr Netanyahu said. “Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region.”
