UN warns of famine as British troops stand by to deploy aid to Gaza

U K could take a leading role in food distribution

British boots could be put on the ground in Gaza as part of international efforts to deliver aid to the war-torn enclave by sea.

The UK Government is considering deploying troops to land humanitarian supplies from a temporary pier currently being built by the US military, the BBC reported yesterday.

On Friday, US defence officials confirmed work had begun to build a floating pier off the coast of Gaza, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, as the UN warns famine is “almost inevitable” and children are starving to death.

Plans say ships will deliver aid supplies from Cyprus to the pier, where it will be loaded onto trucks for transfer by an unnamed “third party” as American forces will not go ashore. The UK has been closely involved with planning the sea-borne aid operation, and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the country would take “a leading role in the delivery of support in co-ordination with the US and other international allies”.

However, Whitehall sources said no decision had been made on putting British boots on the ground, and the issue had not yet crossed the Prime Minister’s desk, while the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Israeli army declined to comment.

Meanwhile, new proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza are being reviewed by Hamas, the militant group confirmed yesterday, as Egyptian officials continue efforts to broker a deal with Israel that will put an end to the deadly conflict and stave off a possible ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah.

Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, based in Qatar, said they were evaluating

Israel’s proposal, and “upon completion of its study” it would submit a response.

However, the group’s deputy chief in Gaza gave no details of the new offer, and it is still unclear whether Israel’s latest response is directly related to a visit to Tel Aviv on Friday by Egyptian mediators.

After more than six months of fighting, Hamas and Israel continue to face international pressure to reach a ceasefire agreement.

Egypt has cautioned that an offensive into the city could have “catastrophic consequences” for the humanitarian situation, as more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge there.

Meanwhile, UN investigators are looking into allegations against staff from the UN relief agency for Palestinians, known as UNRWA, who Israel claims were involved in the October 7 attack by Hamas, which sparked the current conflict.