'Urgent scale-up in humanitarian aid' in Gaza important, UN chief, UK premier agree

LONDON

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday “agreed on the importance of urgently scaling up the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid” in Gaza.

Meeting during an AI safety summit in Milton Keynes, near London, Sunak and Guterres also “agreed on the need to reinvigorate international efforts to reach a lasting resolution to the conflict and progress work towards a two-state solution,” in the Palestine-Israel conflict.

A UK government statement said the leaders “discussed the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza and agreed on the importance of urgently scaling up the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid.”

Sunak “set out the work the UK is doing to support, including doubling aid funding for the United Nations and others’ work in Gaza and pre-positioning emergency supplies and equipment in Egypt.”

Sunak and Guterres also spoke about the need for close global collaboration on AI safety and the latest situation in the Ukraine-Russia war, the statement added.

The Gaza Strip has been crippled by a years-long embargo by the Israeli government, plus an even harsher cutoff of fuel, water, and power supplies since the start of the current conflict on Oct. 7

In recent days Israel has let some aid into the enclave, but only a fraction of what the population of over 2.2 million need to survive.