“[Seoul Economy] As the hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip worsens, international pressure on Israel is increasing. U.S. President Donald Trump, who had previously supported Israel, has for the first time acknowledged the dire hunger conditions in the Gaza Strip. Following this, France and the UK have announced their intentions to recognize Palestinian statehood.
According to Reuters on the 29th (local time), UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer officially declared that if Israel does not agree to a Gaza ceasefire and pursue peace by September, the UK will recognize Palestine as a state. This follows French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on the 24th that France will officially recognize Palestine as a state at the UN General Assembly in September.
The recognition of Palestinian statehood by the UK, which drafted the Balfour Declaration and administered Palestine under a mandate, is seen as significant. The Balfour Declaration, considered a root cause of the current Israel-Palestine conflict, was a 1917 statement by then-UK Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour, assuring support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately criticized the UK’s decision, claiming it praised Hamas terrorism and punished victims, and stating that a jihadist state at Israel’s border could threaten the UK in the future.
Currently, 147 of the 193 UN member states recognize Palestine as a state. Last year, Spain, Ireland, Norway, and Slovenia joined this group. Germany, which previously held a negative view, is also showing signs of changing its stance, having dispatched two transport planes for humanitarian aid to Gaza and planning to send German, French, and British foreign ministers to Israel next month.
Reuters noted that as international pressure mounts on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, Israel is becoming increasingly isolated on the global stage. President Trump, who had previously avoided questions about the hunger crisis in Gaza and supported Netanyahu, stated that “additional food distribution centers will be set up soon” in the Gaza Strip.
Since the truce agreement collapsed in March this year, Israel has intensified its blockade on Gaza. Humanitarian organizations point out that the crisis has worsened because Israel has centralized relief distribution through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and controls the activities of the UN and international organizations in the Gaza Strip.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) partnership, comprised of UN agencies and NGOs, issued a statement on the 30th warning that the food situation across Gaza is at the worst-case scenario stage of ‘Famine,’ the highest of five hunger stages. According to the IPC partnership, one out of three residents in Gaza is going hungry all day, and as of July, around one in four households (24%) are facing severe hunger.”