UK foreign secretary warns Gaza crisis 'reached new depths,' calls for urgent aid delivery

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Sunday warned that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has "reached new depths" and called for the urgent acceleration of aid delivery in the coming hours and days.

In a statement, Lammy said that while Israel's announcement of a temporary pause to allow humanitarian corridors and aid drops is "essential," it is "long overdue" and insufficient to address the scale of suffering on the ground.

"Access to aid must therefore be urgently accelerated over the coming hours and days," he said.

He welcomed the UK's ongoing cooperation with Jordan to deliver aid and evacuate children in need of critical medical treatment.

"Whilst airdrops will help to alleviate the worst of the suffering, land routes serve as the only viable and sustainable means of providing aid into Gaza," he said, calling for full implementation of measures and the removal of remaining barriers to aid.

Israel has destroyed almost all water infrastructure across the Gaza Strip amid its genocidal war on the enclave, exacerbating the already catastrophic humanitarian conditions for the more than 2.4 million Palestinians living under blockade.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.