Britain is now more actively weighing the recognition of a Palestinian state, two senior government officials said Monday, a striking shift prompted by public revulsion at the images of starving children in Gaza and intense pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer from lawmakers in his own Labour Party.

Mr. Starmer did not follow President Emmanuel Macron when he announced last week that France would recognize the state of Palestine. The British prime minister said in a statement at the time that recognition had to be part of “a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis.”

But the British officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations, said momentum was building because of the escalating humanitarian crisis, with reports of deaths from starvation in Gaza after months of restrictions on aid imposed by the Israeli authorities.

Mr. Starmer has long backed the right of Palestinians to an independent state. But officials said he had resisted immediate recognition because he viewed it as a largely “performative” gesture that would not improve conditions on the ground and could even complicate negotiations to strike a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

Those arguments have not satisfied the more than 250 members of Parliament from nine parties, including Labour, who signed a letter to Mr. Starmer and the foreign secretary, David Lammy, urging Britain to recognize Palestine at a United Nations’ conference this week devoted to a two-state solution.

While the lawmakers acknowledged that the “U.K. does not have it in its power to bring about a free and independent Palestine,” they said recognition would have an impact because of Britain’s role in the creation of the state of Israel. Other supporters said such a move would signal that the government recognizes the tragedy unfolding in Gaza — and is not going to simply stand by.

Members of Mr. Starmer’s cabinet are also pushing. The prime minister has recalled the ministers from recess for an emergency cabinet meeting this week about the war in Gaza. That will come on the heels of Mr. Starmer’s meeting with President Trump on Monday at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.

Mr. Trump appeared to give Mr. Starmer more latitude to recognize a Palestinian state. Having dismissed Mr. Macron’s move — “What he says doesn’t matter; I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight,” he said of the French president last week — Mr. Trump pointedly did not discourage Mr. Starmer from following suit.

“I’m not going to take a position; I don’t mind him taking a position,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Starmer on Monday, when asked about recognition. “I’m looking to getting people fed right now. That’s the No. 1 position, because you have a lot of starving people.”

Mr. Starmer pressed Mr. Trump to use his influence on Israel to get more food into Gaza — and appeared to have made some headway.

The president said the United States would work with Britain and other European countries to set up food centers “where people can walk in and no boundaries.” That was an apparent criticism of the aid distribution system managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is run by American contractors and backed by Israel. Hundreds of people have been killed trying to obtain the aid.

Mr. Starmer also presented Mr. Trump with details of a European and British plan to bring lasting peace to Gaza, according to Downing Street. The prime minister has discussed the plan with Mr. Macron and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany.

The debate over Gaza has put Mr. Starmer, a methodical former human rights lawyer, in an awkward position. He has vowed to adhere to international law in dealing with Israel. That led him to drop the previous government’s challenge to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant.

But Mr. Starmer also tends to shy away from symbolic acts. Critics of Palestinian recognition said such a move would fall squarely into that category and could be better used as leverage at a later stage of the crisis. They also said it raised a raft of legal questions that might vex Mr. Starmer.

“It’s a political decision but it involves a whole range of legal criteria,” said Kim Darroch, a former British national security adviser and ambassador to the United States. “Is there a government in control of the state’s territory? Can you conduct diplomatic relations with the state?”

Others contend that Britain has moved too gingerly in pressuring Israel. It suspended some arms shipments to Israel last year. And it restored funding to the main United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, which Israeli officials had accused of complicity with Hamas militants.

Last month, the British government imposed sanctions on two far-right members of Mr. Netanyahu’s cabinet, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, for what it said was their role in inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Britain acted with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway — concerted action that some diplomats said they would expect it to use again on Palestinian recognition.

France was the first member of the Group of 7 to announce it would recognize a Palestinian state. Mr. Macron characterized the move as part of France’s “historical commitment to a just and durable peace in the Middle East.” Norway, Spain and Ireland recognized Palestine as a state last year.

Mr. Netanyahu condemned the move, saying that a Palestinian state could become “a launchpad to annihilate Israel.”

Stephen Castle contributed reporting.