British PM: The Situation In Gaza Is Getting Worse From Day To Day

JAKARTA - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday that the situation in Gaza was getting worse. Starmer stressed it was important to ensure the Palestinian region received more humanitarian aid immediately.

"The situation is intolerable in Gaza, and getting worse day by day," Starmer told reporters in Scotland, when asked if Britain would take any action regarding the matter.

"That is why we are working with allies to ensure that humanitarian aid must be distributed quickly and in large quantities so that at this time it cannot be distributed, which will result in total destruction," said Starmer.

The United Nations (UN) has previously called the situation in Gaza the worst since the war between Israel and Hamas militants began 19 months ago, although limited aid deliveries have restarted in the hungry Palestinian territories.

Under increasing global pressure, Israel ended an 11-week blockade in Gaza 12 days ago, allowing a limited UN-led operation to resume. Then on Monday, a controversial new line for aid distribution was also launched by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the United States and Israel.

"Any aid that comes to the hands of people who need it is good," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

However, he said, aid deliveries so far have had only a very small impact.

"The disaster situation in Gaza is the worst since the war began," he said.

The United Nations and international aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF because they say the GHF is not neutral and has a distribution model that forces Palestinians to evacuate.

Israel ultimately wants the United Nations to cooperate through the GHF, which uses US private security and logistics companies to transport aid to Gaza to be distributed by civilian teams in places known as safe distribution sites.

However, Israel will allow the delivery of aid "for the near future" through the UN and GHF operations, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said this week.

GHF has so far managed to distribute more than 2.1 million meals.