Britain will recognise the state of Palestine in September unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the "appalling situation" in Gaza and meets other conditions, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the cabinet, according to a government statement.

"He said that the UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September, before UNGA (United Nations General Assembly), unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, reaches a ceasefire, makes clear there will be no annexation in the occupied West Bank, and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution," according to the statement said on Tuesday.

"He reiterated that there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas and that our demands on Hamas remain: that they must release all the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, accept that they will play no role in the government of Gaza, and disarm."

Pressure on Starmer

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been under pressure from some senior members of the government to immediately recognise a Palestinian state, according to reports.

On Monday, a further 34 members of Parliament added their names to a cross-party letter addressed to the prime minister in which they urged him to recognise Palestine as a sovereign state.

Their names join the 221 who originally signed the letter when it was published on Friday and include independent MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, as well as Chris Hinchliff, who recently lost the Labour whip over rebellions in the Commons, ITVX reported.

Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee recently also called on the government to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood "boldly and bravely" in its preparations with allies for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

Emily Thornberry, the committee chair, said in a statement that there is "huge frustration among many of the British public that the government has consistently acted too little, too late."

Terrible suffering

Meanwhile, the UK carried out its first air drop of aid into Gaza, the government said, as UN agencies warned the Palestinian territory was slipping into famine.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said "the first air drops of British aid" were landing on Tuesday, containing around half a million pounds worth of lifesaving supplies.

"The Palestinian people have endured terrible suffering now in Gaza because of a catastrophic failure of aid; we see starving babies and children too weak to stand," Starmer said in a televised address, adding, "The suffering must end.”

French President Emmanuel Macron announced last week that France will formally recognise the State of Palestine during the United Nations General Assembly in September, becoming the most powerful European nation to take such a step.

Palestine was under a British mandate from 1920 to 1948, after which Israel began to annex and occupy the Palestinian territory in successive years.