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King Charles III made a "generous donation" to a British Red Cross fundraising appeal for Gaza after being briefed by aid agencies about the deteriorating humanitarian situation on the enclave.
The UK king, who is president of the British Red Cross, discussed the “acute humanitarian situation” in the region, a Buckingham Palace representative said.
"We are immensely grateful to HM King Charles for his generous donation to our Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territory appeal," the charity said on social media.
The monarch also met charity leaders from Medical Aid for Palestinians, Unicef UK and Christian Aid.
Aid groups have called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, and ensure safe and sustained access to aid.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has emphasised the need for temporary breaks in the bombings to allow Israeli hostages and British citizens to be freed.
Buckingham Palace did not comment on whether the king discussed the hostages during the private meeting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, in its neutral intermediary role, has assisted with the recent release of four Israeli hostages. Hamas is still holding more than 200 people.
The latest from the Israel-Gaza war - in pictures
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Palestinians check the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Israeli soldiers and military vehicles near the border with Gaza. EPA -
Palestinians injured in Israeli air raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Getty Images -
Protesters call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 attack. AFP -
The protest was held near the headquarters of the Israeli Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv. AFP -
Smoke and flames rise from buildings after an Israeli strike on Gaza City. AFP -
Destruction in Gaza City after an Israeli air strike. AFP -
A wounded Palestinian is taken into Al Shifa hospital after Israeli air strikes on Gaza City. AP -
Israelis at a cemetery in Holon during a funeral take cover as a siren warns of incoming rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. AP -
Posters of hostages abducted by Hamas form part of an installation consisting of 224 light pillars erected by the Jerusalem municipality outside Teddy Stadium. AFP -
Supporters of Palestine hold a rally in New York's financial district to demand that American financial institutions stop financing weapons manufacturing. AFP -
Army rescue crews assess the damage after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a building in Rishon LeTsiyon, Israel. Getty Images -
Israeli strikes as seen from a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians. Reuters -
Israeli armoured vehicles take part in an operation, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues, at a location given as the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
A Palestinian man is comforted as he mourns the death of his daughter and his wife, who were killed by Israeli strikes. Reuters -
Satellite view of damaged areas in the Beit Hanoun district of Gaza as a result of fighting between Israel and Hamas. Reuters -
Beit Hanoun was hit by Israeli missiles. Reuters -
Two brothers on a stretcher after being rescued from beneath the rubble of a destroyed area in Gaza. EPA -
Israeli security forces gather along a cordoned-off street where an apartment building was hit by a rocket fired from Gaza, in Rishon LeZion, near Tel Aviv. AFP -
Rescuers in front of an apartment building hit by a rocket in the Israeli city of Rishon LeZion. AFP -
Red Crescent Society employees and volunteers handle humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at a warehouse in Arish, Egypt. EPA -
Men lower one of the coffins during the funeral of British-Israelis Lianne Sharabi and her daughters Noiya Sharabi, 16, and Yahel Sharabi, 13, in Kfar Harif, Israel. EPA -
An Israeli soldier in a ruined house in the kibbutz of Beeri, near the border with Gaza. EPA -
The aftermath of wide-scale strikes, which Israel says struck Hamas emergency operational apparatus, including war rooms, infrastructure and military headquarters, in Gaza. Reuters -
Palestinians search for casualties after Israeli attacks on houses in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Rescuers look for casualties in Khan Younis. Reuters -
Palestinian Ali Daba and his wife have separated their children and given them bracelets to help identify them in case they are killed in Israeli strikes. Their daughter shows her bracelet at their shelter in Khan Younis. Reuters -
In Tel Aviv, teddy bears with their eyes covered and signs of injury go on show to highlight the young children and babies missing, believed to be being held by Hamas. Getty -
Palestinians near the rubble of a building following overnight Israeli strikes on the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP -
Members of the Palestine Red Crescent Society distribute aid in Deir Al Balah, in the Gaza Strip. Reuters -
Pro-Israel, left, and pro-Palestine protesters face off during a demonstration in reaction to the Gaza conflict, in central Atlanta, Georgia. EPA -
Orit Meir, the mother of Almog Meir Jan who was taken hostage by Hamas while attending the Nova festival in Israel, at the family's home in Or Yehuda. Reuters -
A soldier puts on protective gear in Ramle, Israel, as he prepares to identify those killed by Hamas during the October 7 attack. Getty Images -
Palestinians wounded in Israeli air strikes arrive at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Getty Images -
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, centre, speaks with the father of one of the hostages held by Hamas, before a UN Security Council meeting in New York. EPA -
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attend a meeting in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. EPA -
Survivors of Israel's bombardment of Gaza being treated at a trauma ward at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. AFP -
Smoke rises after an air strike on Gaza, as seen from southern Israel. Reuters -
A woman holds placards identifying one of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas during a demonstration in Tel Aviv. AFP
Those the audience were the chief executive of Unicef UK Jon Sparkes, Medical Aid for Palestinians chief executive Melanie Ward, vice chairwoman of the board of trustees for Medical Aid for Palestinians Shireen Jayyusi, Christian Aid chief executive Patrick Watt, and Rory Moylan, head of region for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe at the British Red Cross.
The British Red Cross has described the situation in Gaza as an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis” with vital resources unable to get through.
It said the most pressing issue is the lack of food and water and that recent aid convoys were merely “a drop in the ocean”.
Israel has only in recent days agreed to allow aid into Gaza, having besieged the Hamas-ruled area, preventing essentials such as water, food and fuel from reaching more than two million Palestinians.
But the UN has warned it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory.
The king also held an audience with the Crown Prince of Kuwait on Wednesday, when he also discussed the continuing conflict, which has already claimed at least 8,000 lives on both sides.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the military is preparing for a full-scale ground invasion to crush Hamas.
In a landmark speech last week, King Charles stressed the “vital” need for mutual understanding among religions in times of “international turmoil and heart-breaking loss of life”.
Earlier in the month, he held talks with Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the Chief Rabbi, at the palace to discuss the horrors of events in Israel and how to support interfaith harmony in Britain in distressing and difficult times.
Buckingham Palace said King Charles condemned Hamas’s “barbaric acts of terrorism” after its October 7 attack on Israel – which killed 1,400 people.
