Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted Sir Keir Starmer's "weak" and "shameful" plans to recognise the state of Palestine once again.

In a furious podcast appearance on Wednesday, the Israeli Prime Minister laid into his British counterpart - and issued a dire warning over his response to Israel's military activity in Gaza to boot.

Mr Netanyahu told the TRIGGERnometry podcast: "They [Hamas] commit the greatest savagery against Jews since the Holocaust, and the Prime Minister of Britain says we will reward you with a de facto state which is committed openly to repeating the October 7 massacre over and over and over again."

He added: "Let's imagine, what would be the response of Britain is about 15,000 people would be butchered in one day, and you'd have, I don't know, 2,500 hostages taken.

"Would you say, 'oh, well, we should give our attackers a state right next to London?' Of course not."

"The standard that is being applied is not merely wrong, it's just downright dangerous.

"Because you're really rewarding these monstrous terrorists with the greatest prize and that's because of weakness."

Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Prime Minister's plans to recognise the state of Palestine are rewarding Hamas

Britain followed in France's steps to recognise a Palestinian state in September - with Canada and Australia set to follow suit.

The podcast's release also came just ahead of Israel's first steps of occuping the Hamas-controlled Gaza City.

According to Brigadier General Effie Defrin, spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces, said they "control the outskirts of the city".

The plans to begin a new phase of military operations in densely-populated areas of the city were approved by Israel Katz, the Israeli Defence Minister, on Wednesday.

Sir Keir Starmer condemned Israel's plans to invade Gaza

These included a wide-ranging call-up for as many as 60,000 IDF reservists.

Sir Keir had previously condemned the invasion and urged Israel to reconsider its decision "to further escalate its offensive in Gaza".

In a statement, he said: "This action will do nothing to bring an end to this conflict or to help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.

"What we need is a ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas and a negotiated solution.

Mr Netanyahu called protesters throughout the UK who have called for an end to the conflict throughout 'a hostile minority supporting monstrosities'

"Hamas can play no part in the future of Gaza and must leave as well as disarm."

He added: "Our message is clear: a diplomatic solution is possible, but both parties must step away from the path of destruction."

Mr Netanyahu called the pro-Palestine protesters who have flooded Britain's streets since October 7, 2023, the UK who have called for an end to the conflict throughout "a hostile minority supporting monstrosities".

He added: "And I think it's shameful the way that the Western leaders in Britain, in France, in Canada, and New Zealand, the way they buckle.

"They attack the Jewish state, and they give a prize for those who would destroy the one and only Jewish state. Shameful."

The Israeli leader rejected accusations that Israel was committing a genocide in Gaza, and called the claims "starvation fraud".