Prime Minister accuses Israel of creating ‘man-made famine’ in Gaza

In reply, Starmer said he agreed with Davey about the “horrifying” images, but condemned his decision to boycott the banquet on Trump’s upcoming state visit.

“We're looking at a man-made famine on top of everything else, and that is why we're expending so much of our time with partners seeking to bring about a ceasefire, to get humanitarian aid in at pace, to get hostages out, and, of course, to put forward a peace plan that can actually take us to a two-state solution”, he told the Commons.

Last week, Davey was attacked by the Conservatives and Reform UK for announcing he would boycott the banquet, hosted by the King, to highlight the crisis in Gaza.

“If he hadn't refused the invite to the state banquet, he could be there two weeks on Tuesday and speak to President Trump himself ... It's not an act of leadership to pass up that opportunity,” Starmer added.

Later in the session, Starmer responded to a question from Labour left-wing backbencher Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who asked what steps were being taken to protect British nationals on board the most recent flotilla to Gaza organised by pro-Palestine activists, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, which she claimed was aiming “to break the illegal blockade and deliver much needed aid”.

The prime minister started by saying that Ribeiro-Addy had “raised a really important issue in relation to the horrifying situation in Gaza and the Israeli government is preventing urgently needed aid from getting in, and that is why we're now seeing a man-made famine.”

However, he implied a disagreement with the tactics used by the flotilla.

“We are working with other countries to get aid in by any practical means, but land routes are the only viable and sustainable means of getting aid into Gaza at the scale that is required; and Israel must lift the restrictions to allow aid agencies to deliver the lifesaving supplies that are so desperately needed”, he told MPs.

After the session, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said that the use of the phrase “man-made famine” was “consistent with what [the prime minister has] been saying for some time about the dire situation on the ground in Gaza, where we need a massive humanitarian response to prevent more deaths.”

“It's why he's been calling for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and why we've been working to surge humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

Claims of famine in Gaza are heavily disputed by Israel, which maintains that sufficient aid is reaching the territory and that shortages are caused by Hamas theft.

The recent declaration of a famine in Gaza City by the IPC, a UN-backed food security watchdog, was met with accusations of bias from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, which claimed the agency’s report was based on “Hamas lies”.