British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to press US President Donald Trump on the revival of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas as the UK prepares to join efforts to airdrop aid into Gaza.
Mr Starmer will travel to meet the US president during his visit to Scotland amid mounting global anger over the humanitarian conditions in the war-torn enclave.
Ceasefire talks in Qatar ground to a standstill this week after America and Israel withdrew negotiating teams from the country, with US special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a "lack of desire" to reach an agreement.
The deal under discussion was expected to include a 60-day ceasefire, and aid supplies would be ramped up as conditions for a lasting truce were brokered.
Mr Starmer will raise Washington's work with partners in Qatar and Egypt during his talks with Mr Trump and seek to discuss what more can be done to urgently bring about a ceasefire, it is understood.
They will also discuss the recently agreed US-UK trade deal and the war in Ukraine.
Britain is working with Jordan on plans to airdrop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance amid international concern about suffering in the Palestinian territory.
Israel's daily pauses fall short of easing Gaza suffering, says UK's foreign minister
Israel's decision to pause military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and allow new aid corridors falls short of what is needed to alleviate suffering in the enclave, the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
Mr Lammy said in a statement that Israel's announcement was "essential but long overdue", and that access to aid must now be urgently accelerated over the coming hours and days.
"This announcement alone cannot alleviate the needs of those desperately suffering in Gaza," Mr Lammy said.
"We need a ceasefire that can end the war, for hostages to be released and aid to enter Gaza by land unhindered."
Meanwhile, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency has warned that such efforts are "a distraction" that will fail to properly address deepening starvation in Gaza, and could in some cases harm civilians.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said: "A manmade hunger can only be addressed by political will.
"Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need."
Israel has now said it will pause fighting in three populated areas of Gaza and establish humanitarian corridors to enable UN convoys to transport aid to desperate Palestinians, as well as allowing airdrops.
In a statement, the country's military said it would enable "safe movement of deliveries of food and medicine" but that it "emphasises that combat operations have not ceased".
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also said that there was "no starvation" in Gaza, despite increasing accounts of malnutrition and starvation-related deaths.
Mr Starmer held emergency talks with French and German counterparts yesterday, during which Number 10 said they agreed "it would be vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace".
A Downing Street readout of the call made no mention of Palestinian statehood, which Mr Starmer has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his country would do so in September.
Scottish National Party to 'force a vote' on recognising State of Palestine
The Scottish National Party has threatened to bring forward legislation on recognising Palestinian statehood and "force a vote" if UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer continues to oppose the move.
The party, which pushes for the independence of Scotland, said it would table a "Palestine Recognition Bill" when the UK parliament returns after its summer recess if Mr Starmer did not change his position.
The prime minister has committed to recognising Palestinian statehood but said it must be part of a peace process in the Middle East.
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The SNP threat comes after more than 220 British MPs, including dozens from Mr Starmer's ruling Labour party, demanded Friday that the UK government follow France and recognise a Palestinian state.
The call, in a letter signed by MPs from nine UK political parties, came less than 24 hours after French President Emmanuel Macron said that his country would formally do so at a UN meeting in September.
"Unless Keir Starmer stops blocking UK recognition of Palestine, the SNP will introduce a Palestine Recognition Bill when Parliament returns in September and force a vote if necessary," said Stephen Flynn, SNP's leader in the UK parliament.
"Keir Starmer must stop defending the indefensible, finally find a backbone and demand that Israel ends its war now," he added.
If France formally recognises a Palestinian state it would be the first G7 country - and the most powerful European nation to date - to make the move.
Mr Starmer has come under rising domestic and international pressure over recognising Palestinian statehood, as opposition intensifies to the ongoing war in Gaza amid fears of mass starvation there.
The UK leader yesterday spoke to his French and German counterparts and outlined UK plans to airdrop aid to people in Gaza and evacuate sick and injured children, his office said.
The SNP holds nine seats in the 650-seat UK parliament.
Israeli army says two soldiers killed in south Gaza
Two Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in southern Gaza, the military said, a day after confirming another soldier had died of wounds sustained last week.
"We have lost three young heroes - some of our finest - who gave their lives for the security of our state and the return of all our hostages," Defence Minister Israel Katz said on X.
The two soldiers, aged 20 and 22, served in the Golani Infantry Brigade's 51st Battalion.
Israeli military sources said they were killed when their armoured vehicle exploded in the city of Khan Younis.
Military correspondents from several Israeli media outlets said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device detonated by a militant who emerged from a tunnel.
An investigation was underway.
In a separate incident on Sunday, an officer and a reservist were severely wounded in combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the military said.
According to an AFP toll based on data from the Israeli army, 462 soldiers have been killed since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza on 27 October 2023.
Israel launched its Gaza military campaign after Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The Israeli campaign has killed 59,821 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Read more: Why is France recognising Palestinian statehood and who else has?
