A British-Israeli woman held hostage by Hamas for more than a year says Sir Keir Starmer is "not standing on the right side of history" after his pledge to recognise a Palestinian state.
Emily Damari, who survived 471 days in Hamas captivity, accused the Prime Minister of "moral failure" over the move.
Sir Keir announced on Tuesday that the UK could take the step of recognising statehood in September.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Cabinet minister would not say if terror group Hamas has to free the remaining Israeli hostages for Britain to recognise a Palestinian state.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said “Hamas (has) to act in the same way as we expect Israel to act” as the UK assesses whether to recognise a Palestinian state in September.
Sir Keir on Tuesday set out four conditions for Israel to meet to avoid the looming major shift in UK foreign policy in the Middle East.
They include ending the “starvation” in Gaza, agreeing to a ceasefire, stopping annexing land in the West Bank and moving towards a two-state solution to the Middle East crisis.
But asked if Hamas releasing hostages was a condition for the UK to recognise a Palestinian state, Ms Alexander told BBC radio: “Hamas need to release the hostages, they need to disarm, and they also need to accept that they will have no future role in the governance of Gaza.
“They are a vile terrorist organisation that has perpetrated heinous crimes and awful atrocities on the Israeli people.”
Asked again directly if the release of hostages is a condition on recognition, she said: “We will be making an assessment in September and we expect Hamas to act in the same way as we expect Israel to act.
“We’re giving Israel eight weeks to act. If they want to be sat at the table to shape that enduring peace in the region, they must act.”
She also stressed that children are “starving to death” in Gaza where Israel has throttled aid supplies and parents were being “shot dead” as they searched for food for their families.
More than 100 aid agencies have been warning of the hunger crisis in the narrow strip of land besieged by Israel.
After an emergency Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Sir Keir emphasised that Hamas must immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and “accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza”.
But he did not specify that these were conditions of the UK recognising a Palestinian state.
Responding to the shift in UK foreign policy, Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the PM’s announcement rewards “Hamas’s monstrous terrorism”.
In a statement on social media site X, Israel’s Prime Minister added: “Appeasement towards jihadist terrorists always fails.”
Donald Trump, who met Sir Keir on Monday in Scotland and discussed measures to end the starvation faced by Gazans, suggested the pair had not talked about recognising Palestinian statehood.
But Trump said he did not mind the PM “taking a position” on the issue.
This was a contrast with his reaction to Emmanuel Macron’s announcement that France will recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, which the US president said would make no difference.
Sir Keir has faced growing pressure from Cabinet ministers and dozens of Labour MPs to recognise a Palestinian state.
More than 250 cross-party MPs have now signed a letter calling for ministers to take the step.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is among those to have signalled a desire for hastened action, calling for recognition “while there’s still a state of Palestine left to recognise”, while Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the Government wants to recognise a Palestinian state “in contribution to a peace process”.
